As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, Fremont ranks the 102nd largest city in the nation.

Fremont is the country's fifth-best childcare market and California's #1, by a wide margin. A median household income of $176,350 — almost double the state average — converts Alameda County's $28,536 annual infant-care bill into a 16.2% income share, the lowest cost burden in the report. The unusual story is not just the income. Fremont licenses 7.46 establishments per 1,000 children under five, nearly double both the California and national figures, supported by Bay Area tech disposable income and family-heavy demographics. Single parents head 10.1% of households with kids — about a third of California's share, the lowest in this batch — and mothers' labor force participation matches the national 68.2% exactly. The city's combination of price, income, supply, and household structure is rare anywhere in the United States.

Key highlights & actionable takeaways

Ranked 5 of 250, score 71 (Strong); #1 in California by a wide margin.
$176,350 median household income — nearly double the state average — turns Bay Area pricing into a 16.2% earnings line, the lowest in the report.
7.46 licensed establishments per 1,000 kids under 5 — nearly double national; single-parent share 10.1%, lowest in the batch.

Actionable takeaways

Lead with Fremont as a national outlier. Ranked 5th of 250 US cities, the combination of $176,350 median income, 7.46 establishments per 1,000 kids, and a 10.1% single-parent share is genuinely rare anywhere in the country — not just California.
Frame the single-parent share as the structural cushion. At about a third of California's average, Fremont's two-parent dual-earner concentration is the variable that turns coastal pricing into a manageable line item; demographic stability matters as much as the income side.
Watch the Bay Area tech-supply build-out. The 7.46-per-1,000 establishment density nearly doubles California's average and reflects targeted investment by tech-employer-adjacent provider networks — a model worth tracking for whether it replicates in San Jose or Oakland.

Affordability — 83/100

Center-based infant care in Alameda County costs $28,536 a year, projected to 2025 — among the highest absolute prices in the United States. In almost any other city, that number would dominate the affordability story. In Fremont, a median household income of $176,350 turns it into 16.2% of pre-tax earnings, well below California's 24.7% and the national 21.9%. The childcare-to-rent ratio is 0.82.

The math holds for two-child families in a way it doesn't elsewhere in the state. Two children at center rates — infant plus toddler — would cost about $50,700 a year, or roughly 29% of median household income. That's still a heavy load but it remains in the territory of "manageable for high earners," not "force one parent out of the workforce." Family child care, at $21,066 for an infant, offers a meaningful discount that more income-strained Fremont households can use. Within the dataset of 250 US cities, only a handful of high-income suburbs deliver this kind of headroom against this kind of headline price.

Supply — 63/100

Alameda County licenses roughly 42,877 slots against 110,042 children under 5 with working parents — the same pro-rata 39 slots per 100 kids that defines southern California, but Fremont's local establishment density is the standout statistic in this batch. At 7.46 licensed establishments per 1,000 children under 5, Fremont nearly doubles California's 4.23 average and the 4.21 national figure. The Bay Area tech enclave's combination of high disposable income, dense suburban geography, and family-heavy demographics has supported the build-out of an unusually thick provider network. Waitlists exist, but the search radius for a slot is tighter here than almost anywhere else in California.

Workforce — 69/100

The median Alameda County childcare worker earns $21.62 an hour, or $44,970 a year — meaningfully higher than the California average of $18.38, and the highest of any city in this report. The EPI living wage for a single adult in Alameda is $33.71, putting provider pay at 64.1% of what it costs to live alone in the county. That's still a gap, but it's the smallest gap of any California city in this batch and one factor behind Fremont's center stability. The local effect is lower turnover and more experienced staff in infant rooms.

Family strain — 74/100

Fremont's family-strain readings are extreme outliers within California. The single-parent share is 10.1% — about a third of California's 29.1% and the lowest in this batch. Mothers' labor force participation for kids under 6 sits at 68.2%, matching the national average exactly. The combination — most Fremont kids live with two parents, and most mothers work — creates the conditions where high prices are spread across two strong incomes and the infrastructure works the way it's supposed to.

Policy support — 56/100

California's policy framework sets Fremont's floor like every other California city: pre-K reaches 48% of 4-year-olds at $15,192 per child, CCDF subsidy reaches 16.4% of eligible kids, and 8 weeks of paid family leave at 90% wage replacement (effective 2004) covers all California workers. The state meets 4.2 of NIEER's 10 quality benchmarks. Policy is measured at the state level.

In-home care in Fremont

In-home care in Fremont reflects Bay Area nanny market patterns, with full-time live-out rates running at the upper end of California's band. The combination of high incomes, demanding tech-sector schedules, and a high share of dual-earning households has built one of the most active nanny share markets in the state, and au pair placements through State Department-designated J-1 sponsors are common in households that need the schedule flexibility centers can't provide.

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.