Childcare Workers
US occupation · SOC 39-9011
Job titles people report: Caregiver, Child Care Worker, Child Caregiver, Childcare Provider, Childcare Worker, Daycare Teacher, Daycare Worker, Infant Teacher, Toddler Teacher
Pay and outlook
- Median annual wage, May 2025
- $34,980
- Half earn more, half earn less
- Middle half earn
- $29,360 – $38,570
- 25th to 75th percentile
- People employed, May 2025
- 518,910
- Wage and salary jobs (OEWS)
- Projected change, 2025–35
- -2%
- Shrinking (below 0%)
- Openings a year (projected)
- 150,300
- New jobs plus replacing people who leave
- Typical education to enter
- High school diploma or equivalent
- BLS
- All figures are for the United States as a whole. Pay varies a lot by state and city.
- Wages are for everyone working in the occupation in May 2025, at every career stage. They are not starting salaries or figures for new graduates.
- Growth and openings are BLS projections for 2025–35. They are estimates, not promises. Openings include jobs that open up when people retire or change occupation, not just new jobs.
What the work involves
Attend to children at schools, businesses, private households, and childcare institutions. Perform a variety of tasks, such as dressing, feeding, bathing, and overseeing play.
Main tasks
- Maintain a safe play environment.
- Observe and monitor children's play activities.
- Communicate with children's parents or guardians about daily activities, behaviors, and related issues.
- Support children's emotional and social development, encouraging understanding of others and positive self-concepts.
- Care for children in institutional setting, such as group homes, nursery schools, private businesses, or schools for people with disabilities.
- Sanitize toys and play equipment.
- Dress children and change diapers.
- Keep records on individual children, including daily observations and information about activities, meals served, and medications administered.
More specific O*NET® occupations under this one: Nannies.
Description and tasks from the O*NET® 31.0 Database.
Getting in
- Typical education to enter (BLS)
- High school diploma or equivalent
- Training once hired: short-term on-the-job training
- O*NET Job Zone 1–2
- Little to some preparation
- Usually requires a high school diploma or GED, though some occupations may not.
Interests it suits
The strongest of the six O*NET interest types for this occupation, highest first. The short glosses are ours.
- Social: helping, teaching and caring for people
- Artistic: creating, designing and self-expression
- Conventional: organising information, records and procedures
Fields of study that lead here
From the federal CIP–SOC crosswalk, which links 3 programmes to this occupation. A link means the programme prepares people for this kind of work. It doesn't mean the programme is required, or that it's the only route.
Fields
Our college matcher doesn't offer this field as a major, so we can't suggest colleges for it here.
Family and Consumer Sciences/Human Sciences
- Child Development
- Child Care Provider/Assistant
- Early Childhood and Family Studies
Related careers
Related occupations from the O*NET database, in its order.
- Preschool Teachers, Except Special Education
$38,140 median · +4.5% projected
- Personal Care Aides
$35,800 median · +18.1% projected
- Kindergarten Teachers, Except Special Education
$62,680 median · -0.3% projected
- Home Health Aides
$35,800 median · +18.1% projected
- Teaching Assistants, Preschool, Elementary, Middle, and Secondary School, Except Special Education
$36,780 median · -0.3% projected
- Health Education Specialists
$64,070 median · +5.6% projected
Sources
This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA. CollegeMatcher has modified all or some of this information. USDOL/ETA has not approved, endorsed, or tested these modifications. O*NET 31.0 Database · CC BY 4.0
Changes: we show the core tasks in the O*NET database with the highest importance ratings (up to eight, in that order), the top three O*NET interest types by score, and shortened Job Zone names. Titles, descriptions and task text are unchanged.
Wages: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics, May 2025. Projections, typical entry education and training: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Employment Projections 2025–35. Fields of study: NCES and BLS CIP 2020–SOC 2018 Crosswalk. All public domain. OEWS · Employment Projections · CIP–SOC crosswalk