As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, Antioch ranks the 243rd largest city in the nation.

In Antioch, on the Contra Costa County's eastern delta, an infant in a licensed center costs $26,647 a year. Set against a $94,256 median household income, that price consumes 28.3% of pretax pay — the highest cost burden in this nearby California cohort, and four points above the state. The city is the only Strained-tier reading among neighboring Bay Area outer-ring cities. The arithmetic is plain: a childcare-to-rent ratio of 0.99, two-child center bills past $47,000 a year, and a 37.4% single-parent share — eight points above California's. Mothers' LFP runs 69.6%, slightly above national. The Bay Area workforce wage premium ($21.62 an hour) and Contra Costa's relatively dense supply network keep the composite at 49 — Strained, but the price-to-income compression, not supply or workforce, is the binding constraint.

Key highlights & actionable takeaways

Score 49/100 (Strained); ranked 130 nationally, #28 of 54 in California — Contra Costa County, only Strained-tier city in the nearby cluster.
Infant center care $26,647 — 28.3% of $94,256 household income; highest burden in the cohort, four points above state.
Single-parent share 37.4% — eight points above California's 29.1%; childcare 0.99 times annual rent.

Actionable takeaways

Only Strained-tier city in the nearby Bay Area cohort. Antioch sits between Concord (Moderate, #11) and Berkeley (Moderate, #10) on the same Contra Costa price floor and the same workforce wage — the binding difference is the income-to-price compression, not supply or workforce.
37.4% single-parent share concentrates the strain. Eight points above California, six above national — combined with 28.3% cost burden and $47K+ two-child bills, parents are working but the month-end math doesn't clear; this is the city's structural fragility.
Inverse of Carlsbad on the income side. Same San Diego/SF Bay coastal-tier price band, very different income headroom — paired reporting on the two cities isolates how income alone shifts a city across the Strained/Moderate boundary.

Affordability — 28/100

A typical Antioch family with one infant in a Contra Costa County licensed center pays roughly $26,647 a year — the second-highest figure in this nine-city cohort, behind Berkeley. Against a $94,256 median household income, infant care eats 28.3% of HHI — the highest cost burden in this report and well above California's 24.7% state average. A toddler slot adds another $20,639, putting two-child center bills past $47,000 a year. The childcare-to-rent ratio of 0.99 means a year of infant care runs essentially the same as twelve months of the city's $2,241 median rent. The lived implication: an Antioch family pays roughly $9,500 more per child for infant care than the national median household, while earning only $15,000 more — a compression that explains why Antioch is the lone Strained-tier city in this group.

Supply — 57/100

Contra Costa County supports 356 licensed establishments — 5.69 per 1,000 children under five, well above California's state average of 4.23 and the second-densest provider network in this nine-city cohort behind Berkeley. Slot capacity per 100 working-parent kids comes in at 39, in line with other Bay Area counties. The supply story for Antioch families is meaningfully better than the affordability story — Contra Costa's provider density gives families more programs to choose between than the Solano or Riverside markets — but the real binding constraint here is price, not the count of available spots.

Workforce — 69/100

Childcare workers in Contra Costa County earn a median $21.62 an hour — about $44,970 a year — meaningfully above the national median and the California state median. The local living wage for a single adult is $33.71/hour, so providers earn 64.1% of what it costs to live independently in the county. The wage premium reflects the inner Bay Area labor market: Contra Costa programs compete for staff against Alameda and San Francisco counties, which pulls up pay even in the East Bay outer ring. Higher pay translates to lower turnover, which is one of the reasons Antioch's supply density holds up despite the affordability squeeze on families.

Family strain — 51/100

Family strain is where Antioch's structural challenges concentrate. The single-parent share runs at 37.4% — eight points above the California state average and nearly six points above the national figure. Mothers' labor force participation for kids under six is 69.6%, slightly above the national rate, with 70.2% of children under six in households where all parents are working. The combination — a high single-parent share, strong mothers' LFP, and a 28.3% cost-of-care burden — defines the city's daily pressure: parents are working, but the math at the end of the month is tight in a way that the Conejo Valley or coastal San Diego doesn't experience.

Policy support — 56/100

California provides a moderate floor of state-level support: 48% of 4-year-olds and 10% of 3-year-olds enrolled in state pre-K, with $15,192 per child invested. The state's Paid Family Leave program (effective 2004) replaces 90% of wages for up to 8 weeks. Federal CCDF subsidies reach about 16.4% of eligible California families. Pre-K quality benchmarks remain limited (4.2 of 10). Policy is measured at the state level; Antioch families inherit it alongside the rest of Contra Costa County.

In-home care in Antioch

In-home care in Antioch typically reflects East Bay outer-ring nanny-market patterns, with full-time live-out rates running in the broader Contra Costa County band rather than at inner-Bay-Area levels. With a 37.4% single-parent share and $47,000+ in two-child center costs, demand here often skews toward backup, after-school, and split-shift coverage rather than full-day live-out. Nanny shares between two families remain a workable cost-splitting alternative for working households.

Methodology: The the score is a 0-100 composite score across five dimensions: Affordability (30 pts), Supply (25 pts), Workforce Health (15 pts), Family Strain (15 pts), and Policy Support (15 pts). City-level prices and supply use the city's primary containing county. Policy Support is measured at the state level. Full methodology and data sources: beverly.io/research/methodology.

Sources: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates; U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau National Database of Childcare Prices; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS (May 2024) and QCEW; Buffett Early Childhood Institute / Bipartisan Policy Center / Child Care Aware childcaregap.org (Sept 2025); NIEER State of Preschool Yearbook 2024; HHS ACF CCDF FY2023; National Partnership for Women & Families (March 2026).

Methodology. The State of Childcare Index is a 0-100 composite score across five dimensions: Affordability (30 pts), Supply (25 pts), Workforce Health (15 pts), Family Strain (15 pts), and Policy Support (15 pts). Each dimension draws on publicly available federal data: U.S. Census ACS (5-year), DOL Women's Bureau NDCP, BLS OEWS and QCEW, the Buffett/BPC/CCAoA childcaregap.org dataset, NIEER State of Preschool, and HHS ACF CCDF reports. City-level prices and supply use the city's primary containing county. Policy Support is measured at the state level. Full methodology and data sources: /research/methodology.