As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, Pembroke Pines ranks the 155th largest city in the nation.

More than four-fifths of Pembroke Pines mothers with children under six are in the workforce — among the highest readings of any large US city in the index. The Broward suburb posts the fourth-best score in Florida and lands 18th nationally on the back of a $81,675 median household income that compresses cost-of-care to 18.1% of pre-tax pay, well below the national share. The picture is one of suburban stability built on access. Two-earner households are the norm; the single-parent share, 32.8%, sits close to the national average; and working parents have built schedules that hold. The structural footnote is the same as the rest of Broward: the workforce providing the care earns 59.2% of a single-adult living wage.

Key highlights & actionable takeaways

Strong-tier 66/100, ranked 18 of 250 — fourth in Florida; cost-of-care 18.1% of $81,675 income.
Mothers' LFP 80.6% — among the highest in any large US city, well above national 68.2% and Florida 69.6%.
Family strain 79/100 — strongest dimension on the page; single-parent share 32.8%, near national norm.

Actionable takeaways

80.6% mothers' LFP is among the highest in any large US city — and it's access, not necessity. Pembroke Pines is the suburban-Broward control case for what high-income two-earner households produce when the supply system is just adequate. Compare to Hialeah's similar 70% at $53K income to see what changes.
The 32.8% single-parent share is the structural reason the score holds. Almost identical to the national average and well below the FL average — Pembroke Pines is one of few South FL cities where two-earner households are still the dominant family form.
The Broward wage floor sets the limit on how much higher this score can go. Even at $81,675 median income and 80%+ working mothers, the workforce dimension stays at 28 — meaning continuity and quality are bounded by the same $15.30/hr that constrains poorer Broward cities.

Affordability — 82/100

A year of infant center care in Broward County runs about $14,750 — meaningfully above the Florida state average of $13,439 and reflecting metro South Florida pricing. Pembroke Pines' Strong affordability score is an income story. Median household income in the city is $81,675 — roughly $10,000 above the Florida median and $3,100 above the national median — which compresses the cost-of-care-as-share-of-income to 18.1%, well below the 21.9% national share.

The childcare-to-rent ratio is 0.64. A typical Pembroke Pines family pays roughly $1,229 per month for infant care against $1,910 in median gross rent — care costs about 64 cents on the rent dollar. For a family at the city median, infant tuition consumes roughly $1,400 less per year as a share of income than the national norm. Family child care homes ($11,155/year for an infant) provide a useful step down for families with two children in care.

Supply — 59/100

Broward County has roughly 55 licensed center slots for every 100 children under five with working parents — short of full coverage but comfortably above the desert threshold. With about 132,000 kids under five whose parents work and roughly 73,100 estimated licensed slots county-wide, nearly half of the demand-side population is in informal arrangements, on a waitlist, or with a parent who has stepped back from work.

Broward's 387 licensed establishments produce 3.6 per 1,000 young children — slightly below the Florida (4.05) and national (4.21) averages. Pembroke Pines is one of the larger residential cities sharing that supply pool with Miramar, Hollywood, Coral Springs, and Fort Lauderdale; the constraint is most visible at the infant tier and during peak fall enrollment, less so for preschool-age care.

Workforce — 28/100

Pembroke Pines childcare workers — measured at the Broward County metro level — earn a median of $15.30/hr, or about $31,810 a year for full-time work. That is 59.2% of the local single-adult living wage of $25.86/hr. The workforce score of 28 is the weakest of Pembroke Pines' five dimensions and identical across every Broward city.

A worker earning $15.30/hr against $1,910 rents and $14,750 infant tuition is absorbing the gap families don't see on the invoice. Centers raising wages must raise tuition; centers holding tuition can't retain staff. Pembroke Pines' Strong-tier overall ranking comes with the same structural footnote as the rest of Broward: the city's affordability is partly underwritten by the metro's underpaid workforce.

Family strain — 79/100

80.6% of Pembroke Pines mothers with children under six are in the labor force — among the highest readings of any large US city, and well above the 68.2% national rate and Florida's 69.6%. In a city with a $82K median household income, that figure reads as evidence of accessible childcare, not pure economic necessity. Working parents in Pembroke Pines have built schedules that hold.

The single-parent share is 32.8% — close to the national average (31.8%) and meaningfully below the Florida average (35.0%). Two-earner households can absorb a $14,750 infant tuition bill in a way single-parent households cannot, and Pembroke Pines' family structure is closer to the suburban national norm than to South Florida's urban core.

Policy support — 69/100

Florida's Voluntary Pre-Kindergarten reaches 65% of 4-year-olds — among the broadest reach in the country — but at $2,838 per child in state spending, the program is funded at less than half the national per-child average. NIEER credits Florida with 5 of 10 quality benchmarks. CCDF subsidy reach is 30.5%, serving roughly 113,000 Florida children monthly. Florida has no state paid family leave. Policy support is measured at the state level; the score is identical for Pembroke Pines, Miami, Tampa, and Jacksonville.

In-home care in Pembroke Pines

In-home care in Pembroke Pines typically reflects the broader Broward and South Florida nanny market, with full-time live-out rates in line with metro Miami-Fort Lauderdale norms. Demand is concentrated in the dual-earner households driving the city's 81% mothers' labor force participation. Nanny shares between two families are a familiar workaround for infant care, particularly given Broward's slot density running below the state average. Au pair placements through the State Department's J-1 sponsor agencies are a smaller but growing channel for families wanting full-time in-home coverage at a different cost structure.

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.