As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, Oakland ranks the 45th largest city in the nation.

Oakland's deep network of cooperative preschools and family child care homes gives the East Bay city the highest establishment density of any major California metro — 7.46 licensed sites per 1,000 children under five, nearly double the state average. The constraint is not whether a slot exists but whether the price is achievable. A year of infant center care runs $28,536 — among the highest figures in the country — consuming 29.3% of the city's $97,369 median household income and 24% more than the median apartment monthly. Childcare workers earn $21.62 an hour, well above the national wage but only 64% of the local single-adult living wage. Oakland pays Bay Area prices on incomes that sit below San Francisco and San Jose, with a higher share of single-parent households than either.

Key highlights & actionable takeaways

Ranked 145 of 250, score 48 (Strained); better than LA and Long Beach, but Affordability subscore 16.5 — lowest of any major California city.
Infant center care eats 29.3% of pre-tax income; $28,536 annually runs 24% above median rent, on a $97,369 median income.
Childcare workers earn $21.62/hr — among the country's highest dollar wages — yet only 64.1% of the $33.71 single-adult living wage.

Actionable takeaways

Frame Oakland as the East Bay distinct from SF. Same Bay Area MSA wage pressure, but Oakland's 35% single-parent share (vs. SF's 23%) and lower median income produce California's lowest large-city Affordability subscore at 16.5/100 — the meaningful comparison is across the Bay, not down the coast.
Lead with the cooperative preschool density. At 7.46 establishments per 1,000 kids — nearly double the state average — Oakland's deep East Bay co-op and FCC network is the country's best example of how supply density does not solve a price-versus-income problem.
Track Alameda County rent versus wages. Workers earning $21.62/hr — the highest dollar wage in this report — still buy only 64.1% of the local living wage; housing-cost trends in Hayward, San Leandro, and Castro Valley shape who can afford to staff Oakland classrooms.

Affordability — 17/100

A typical Oakland family with one infant in center-based care pays $28,536 a year — among the highest in our 250-city dataset, behind only San Jose, San Francisco, and a handful of similarly priced metros. Against the city's $97,369 median household income, that's 29.3% of pretax earnings on a single child's care, more than four times the federal 7% benchmark. Family child care homes drop the figure to $21,066 — itself a number that would be unthinkable in most of the country for a regulated home-based slot. The childcare-to-rent ratio of 1.24 means monthly infant care costs 24% more than the $1,917 median gross rent. The 16.5/100 Affordability subscore is the lowest of any major California city; East Bay families pay coastal California prices on incomes that, while high by national standards, sit below San Francisco and San Jose.

Supply — 63/100

Alameda County offers an estimated 42,877 licensed slots against 110,042 children under five with working parents. The 7.46 licensed establishments per 1,000 children under five is nearly double the California state average of 4.23 — a function of the East Bay's deep network of cooperative preschools, parent-participation programs, and home-based providers. The Supply subscore of 63/100 is among the higher figures in California. The constraint is less about whether a slot exists and more about whether the price is achievable for the family seeking it.

Workforce — 69/100

Oakland's Workforce Health subscore of 68.7/100 is the highest among California's 11 largest cities, reflecting both higher wages and a more developed unionized provider sector. The median Oakland childcare worker earns $21.62 an hour, or $44,970 a year — well above the California state median of $18.38 and the national median of $15.41. That said, those wages run only 64.1% of the local single-adult living wage of $33.71 — the Bay Area cost of living crushes even the better-paid corner of the workforce. The 5,760-person workforce sustains the county's deep network of providers, but housing costs continue to push experienced teachers further inland.

Family strain — 57/100

Mothers' labor force participation among Oakland women with children under six is 70.3% — above the national 68.2% and well above California's 65.6%. Single parents head 35.0% of family households with kids — above the national 31.8% and meaningfully higher than San Francisco or San Jose. The Family Strain subscore of 57/100 reflects the East Bay's distinct demographic profile: more single-parent households than the rest of the Bay Area, more racial and economic diversity, and a wider gap between the families who can pay coastal California childcare prices and those who cannot.

Policy support — 56/100

Inherited from California. The state enrolls 48% of 4-year-olds in publicly funded pre-K and spends $15,192 per child. CCDF subsidies reach 16.4% of eligible children. Paid family leave provides 8 weeks at 90% wage replacement. Policy is measured at the state level.

In-home care in Oakland

In-home care in Oakland typically reflects metro-wide Bay Area nanny market patterns, with full-time live-out rates running at the top of the national range. Nanny shares between two families are particularly common in Rockridge, Piedmont, and Crocker Highlands — pricing each family at a meaningful discount relative to a sole nanny. The cooperative preschool culture in the East Bay has also normalized hybrid arrangements, where families combine part-time center care with a part-time in-home caregiver to manage the cost-versus-coverage tradeoff.

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.