As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, Olathe ranks the 185th largest city in the nation.

Olathe sits eleven miles south of Overland Park, in the same Johnson County, paying the same $15,281 a year for an infant in a licensed center. What distinguishes it is the income line: a $112,232 median household, the highest of any Kansas city in this index, drops infant tuition to 13.6% of pre-tax pay. Mothers' labor force participation for kids under six runs 77%, the highest of any Kansas city. The single-parent share is 22%, ten points below the national figure. The composite — 63/100, ranked 28th of 250 — and family strain score of 90/100 (top decile nationally) describe what affluent suburban Kansas looks like with the supply problem removed from the foreground. Johnson County still meets only 42 of every 100 working-parent slots.

Key highlights & actionable takeaways

Score 63/100, Moderate, ranked 28 of 250 — second of two Kansas cities to clear 60, both in Johnson County.
Family Strain score 90/100, top decile nationally; built on a $112,232 median household income and a 22% single-parent share.
Mothers' LFP for kids under six runs 77%, the highest of any Kansas city in the index.

Actionable takeaways

Olathe and Overland Park are functionally a single market in this index. Same Johnson County NDCP price ($15,281), same provider footprint, but Olathe's $112,232 income is roughly $8,400 higher than Overland Park's. The composite gap (63 vs. 64) reflects almost identical fundamentals.
Watch the supply score, not the strain score. The 90 family strain reading flatters Olathe in ways the 42-per-100 supply ratio does not — the structural Johnson County slot gap doesn't disappear because households can afford the price.
The local angle is school-district capacity for the over-five transition. With 77% mothers' LFP for under-six, Olathe USD 233's pre-K and full-day-K capacity is what determines whether Year 5 onwards holds these households in the workforce.

Affordability — 77/100

A typical Olathe family with one infant in center care pays $15,281 a year, the median for Johnson County. Against the city's $112,232 household income — the highest of any Kansas city in this index, and well above both the state median of $72,639 and the national $78,538 — that works out to 13.6% of pre-tax earnings. Still nearly double the federal affordability benchmark of 7%, but the gap from the bill to a paycheck is smaller in Olathe than almost anywhere in the state. Center care runs about 97 cents on the dollar against the city's $1,314 median rent; family child care drops the infant figure to $11,019; toddler center care holds at $14,712. For an Olathe family with two children in center care, the line item nears $30,000 — meaningful even at six-figure incomes, and the reason high-earning families here often plan childcare logistics before pregnancy.

Supply — 42/100

Johnson County, which holds Olathe alongside Overland Park, has an estimated 19,088 licensed slots against roughly 45,400 kids under five with working parents — about 42 slots per 100 children. The county runs 117 licensed centers, or 3.2 establishments per 1,000 kids under five. That's better than the rest of Kansas but still below the national density of 4.2. The Bipartisan Policy Center pegs the statewide gap at 38.5%, and Olathe's piece of Johnson County contends with the same waitlist dynamics — particularly for infant rooms, which often book a year ahead in higher-rated centers.

Workforce — 64/100

The median Olathe childcare worker earns $14.64 an hour, or about $30,440 a year — the same Johnson County figure that applies in Overland Park. Against the local single-adult living wage of $22.97, that's 64%. The wage is the highest of any Kansas city in this index but still well below what a single childcare worker would need to cover rent, food, transportation, and healthcare alone in Johnson County. Center turnover here mirrors national patterns; the wage gap is the proximate cause.

Family strain — 90/100

Mothers' labor force participation in Olathe households with children under six runs 77%, the highest figure of any Kansas city in this index and well above both the state average of 70% and the national 68%. The single-parent share sits at 22%, almost ten points below the national 32%. With household incomes near $112,000, that combination produces a family strain score of 90/100 — top decile nationally. Put plainly: when childcare disrupts in Olathe, more households have a second earner, a financial cushion, and infrastructure to absorb the shock. The structural cushions are thicker here than in most cities its size.

Policy support — 44/100

Kansas enrolls 45% of 4-year-olds in state pre-K, with 6 of 10 NIEER quality benchmarks met and per-child spending of $4,562. The state offers no paid family leave, and CCDF subsidy reach covers an estimated 16.5% of eligible families. Head Start serves about 6,400 children across Kansas. Policy is measured at the state level; Olathe inherits the Kansas posture without local supplements.

In-home care in Olathe

In-home care in Olathe typically reflects metro-wide nanny market patterns, with full-time live-out rates roughly in line with the broader Kansas City regional market. With Johnson County center supply tight even at the higher end, Olathe families with two young children — and high enough incomes to weigh the alternative seriously — often consider nanny shares as a cost-comparable substitute for two center spots. Au pair placements through State Department-designated sponsor agencies remain a smaller channel here than on the coasts but a growing one for families seeking live-in continuity.

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.