Child care costs have increased 41% since the pandemic but this does not necessarily translate an increase in hourly wage or child care provider salary–whether in California or the United States. If you are a daycare owner, lead teacher, kindergarten teacher or any child care provider in California, see whether your income meets the average salary for childcare worker in both the state of California and the United States.
Daycare owner salary 2020 in California vs. United States
A daycare owner’s average annual salary in California is $58,890. This translates to a mean hourly wage of $28.31, $5 higher than the national mean hourly wage of $23.63. Removing extreme high and low hourly wages, the average hourly wage for a daycare owner in California is $25.24 which is $1 lower than the national median hourly wage for daycare owners.
| Daycare owner1 | California* | United States** |
| Mean hourly wage | $28.31 | $23.63 |
| Median hourly wage | $25.24 | $26.41 |
| Annual salary | $ 58,890 | $54,940 |
Lead teacher in child care average wage & salary in California vs. United States
Lead teachers in the child care industry get a much higher mean and median hourly wages compared to the national average. This results in a higher annual salary for lead teachers in childcare, amounting to $40,450.
| Lead teacher2 | California* | United States** |
| Mean hourly wage | $19.45 | $17.57 |
| Median hourly wage | $17.51 | $15.35 |
| Annual salary | $40,450 | $36,550 |
READ MORE: Child tax credits 2021: eligibility, payments threshold, schedule, & IRS online portals
The average kindergarten teacher salary in California and United States
Kindergarten teachers do not have a mean and median wage data as they do not generally work year-round full time. However, kindergarten teachers in California still earn higher than their peers across the United States, with a California kindergarten teacher earning $15,280 more annually than the national annual salary average.
| Kindergarten teacher3 | California* | United States** |
| Annual salary | $76,450 | $61,170 |
The average child care provider salary in California and United States
If you are a child care provider in California, the mean hourly wage is just $2 above the declared minimum hourly wage. Taking away the extreme lows and highs of the reported wages, most child care providers receive just close to the minimum hourly wage.
Still, this average child care provider salary is above the national average with child care providers in California earning $33,840 annually compared to the national average annual salary of $26,790.
| Average child care provider4 | California* | United States** |
| Mean hourly wage | $16.27 | $12.24 |
| Median hourly wage | $14.92 | $12.88 |
| Annual salary | $33,840 | $26,790 |
READ MORE: When Working Moms Paid 50 to 75 Cents ($7-$11) for Childcare in America
Sources:
1US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupation code 11-9031
2US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupation code 25-2011
3US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupation code 25-2012
4US Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupation code 39-9011
*According to May 2020 BLS data for California
**According to May 2020 BLS data for United States
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, “Occupational Employment Statistics,” available at https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_ca.htm and https://www.bls.gov/oes/current/oes_nat.htm (last accessed July 2021).
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