As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, Des Moines ranks the 116th largest city in the nation.

Iowa's capital pays $15,800 a year for an infant in a licensed center — $1,400 below the national median in dollars, but 24.7% of the median household paycheck. The split is the central tension of Polk County's childcare market: prices that look modest from a coastal vantage point, but climb faster than capital-city wages and leave families absorbing more income than the federal 7% benchmark allows. Supply is healthier than headlines suggest. Sixty-six licensed slots cover every 100 working-parent kids, near the national 73, and the workforce score (72.1) holds. What pulls the composite to a Moderate 53/100 is a 44.4% single-parent share — among the highest of any state capital in the index.

Key highlights & actionable takeaways

Score 53/100, Moderate, ranked 102 of 250; supply (73.2) and workforce (72.1) offset infant tuition at 24.7% of household income.
Polk County offers 66 licensed slots per 100 working-parent kids — well above Chicago's 42 and near the 73-per-100 national figure.
Single-parent share 44.4%, among the highest of any state capital in this index; 12 points above the national 31.8%.

Actionable takeaways

The local angle is Polk County versus Linn County, not Iowa versus the nation. Des Moines pays roughly $1,900 more per infant than Cedar Rapids 130 miles east while earning slightly less per household — a gap worth comparing provider mix and wage data on.
Watch the 44.4% single-parent share against the supply score. With 73.2 supply but family strain at 52.2, the binding constraint in Des Moines isn't seats — it's that single-earner households get hit hardest by infant tuition consuming nearly a quarter of pre-tax pay.
Iowa's 67% pre-K access masks how little flows below age 4. Polk County families absorb full-cost infant care for the first three years before the state's pre-K dividend kicks in.

Affordability — 20/100

For a Des Moines family with one infant in a licensed center, the bill runs about $15,800 a year — about $1,400 below the national median and roughly $2,500 above the Iowa state average. Polk County's NDCP price reflects the higher end of Iowa's metro pricing. Against a Des Moines median household income of $63,966, infant tuition consumes 24.7% of pre-tax pay — above the 22% federal affordability benchmark and 6 points above the Iowa figure of 18.2%. The childcare-to-rent ratio of 1.25 means infant care costs 25% more than a year of rent. Family childcare homes drop the price to about $10,326 — a meaningful path for households that can find a slot. The lived implication: Des Moines families pay less than the national median in dollars but absorb more of their paychecks doing so, because Polk County prices have climbed faster than capital-city wages.

Supply — 73/100

Polk County's licensed system covers about 66 slots per 100 children under five with working parents — well above the 42-per-100 figure that defines metro Chicago and within reach of the 73-per-100 national benchmark. Establishment density at 3.73 providers per 1,000 kids under five sits below the state average of 4.42 but well above several other Midwest 1 cities. With about 26,948 estimated slots and 41,130 working-parent kids in the county service area, Des Moines is one of the better-supplied cities in this report — though the statewide supply gap of 14.6% (Bipartisan Policy Center, Sept 2025) still applies as backdrop, particularly for infant rooms.

Workforce — 72/100

The median Des Moines childcare worker earns $14.69 an hour, about $30,560 annually. Against a Polk County single-adult living wage of $22.80, that wage covers 64.4%. The score is one of the stronger ones in this cluster, largely because Des Moines's living wage sits below the Chicago and suburban-Illinois figures. Iowa as a whole shows a similar pattern: childcare workers earn modest hourly rates but face a relatively manageable cost of living, which keeps retention healthier than in higher-cost metros.

Family strain — 52.2/100

Mothers' labor force participation for kids under six is 73.7% in Des Moines — above the national 68.2% but below the Iowa state figure of 76.3%. The 44.4% single-parent share is one of the highest among state capitals in this index and is the central reason family strain lags behind supply and workforce. With 71.9% of children under six living in households where all available parents work, the Des Moines childcare market absorbs near-universal demand — and the supply system, despite scoring well by national standards, still meets only about two-thirds of it.

Policy support — 66.2/100

Iowa enrolls 67% of 4-year-olds in state pre-K — well above the 45% national average — though spending per child ($3,735) is modest and quality covers 8 of 10 NIEER benchmarks. The state has no paid family or medical leave program. CCDF reaches 23.4% of eligible kids, with about 11,400 children served monthly statewide. Des Moines inherits the Iowa policy score, and the high pre-K access rate is the structural reason Iowa's policy support score (65) sits well above Illinois's 49.7 — and well above Indiana's 51.

In-home care in Des Moines

In-home care in Des Moines typically reflects metro-wide nanny market patterns, with full-time live-out rates in line with the broader Iowa and West North Central market — well below big-coastal-metro rates and modestly below metro Chicago. With center care consuming about a quarter of household income and supply meeting roughly two-thirds of working-parent demand, families increasingly turn to nanny shares to bring effective per-family rates closer to center tuition. Au pair placements through State Department-designated J-1 sponsors are also a recognized option in dual-professional Polk County 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 (Polk County for Des Moines). 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.