As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, Wichita ranks the 51st largest city in the nation.

Sedgwick County offers 42 licensed childcare slots for every 100 kids under five with working parents — half the average US metro's ratio and the worst structural shortfall of any Kansas city in this index. Wichita's $11,497 infant tuition looks gentle next to the $17,163 national median, but stretched against a $63,072 household income that lags the national figure by nearly $15,000, the burden ratio almost catches up at 18.2% of pre-tax pay. The city's 49/100 puts it 129th nationally and 4th of 5 in Kansas. Sixty-nine licensed centers carry the load for roughly 40,900 working-parent kids; the math produces 6-to-18-month waitlists for infant rooms across the metro. Aerospace shift schedules at Spirit and Textron compound the timing problem.

Key highlights & actionable takeaways

Score 49/100, Strained, ranked 129 of 250 — 4th of 5 in Kansas, anchored by the worst-in-state supply score (30/100).
Infant center care runs $11,497 a year, among the lowest absolute prices in the index; still 18.2% of the median household budget.
Sedgwick County offers 42 licensed slots per 100 working-parent kids — half the average US metro's ratio; 6-to-18-month infant waitlists.

Actionable takeaways

The aerospace shift-schedule angle is unique to Wichita. Spirit AeroSystems and Textron run the city's largest manufacturing payrolls on schedules that don't match standard 7am-6pm center hours — the local follow-up is whether either employer has built a sponsored childcare bench.
Don't read the $11,497 price as cheap. Stretched against a $63,072 household income that lags national by $15,000, Wichita's affordability burden lands at 18.2% — within five points of Chicago's 22%. Low absolute prices and low absolute incomes can produce identical pain.
Watch Sedgwick County's 69 establishments. That's the operator base carrying the entire county's center load; consolidation, closures, or a single chain pulling out would visibly move the supply score.

Affordability — 57/100

A Wichita family with one infant in center-based care pays $11,497 a year, the median for Sedgwick County. Against a household income of $63,072, that consumes 18.2% of pre-tax earnings — well above the 7% federal affordability benchmark and high enough to crowd out savings, retirement, and second-child planning. The number looks gentler than the national median of $17,163, but Wichita incomes lag the national median of $78,538 by nearly $15,000, and the burden ratio almost catches up. Center care now costs the same as a full year of rent at the city's median of $960 a month. For toddler care, the line is similar at $10,693; the family child care alternative drops to $8,380 for an infant — but those slots are scarcer and harder to find. A Wichita family with two children under five in center care is staring down roughly $22,000 a year, more than a third of typical household income before taxes, food, or transportation.

Supply — 30/100

Sedgwick County has an estimated 17,213 licensed childcare slots against roughly 40,900 kids under five with working parents — about 42 slots for every 100 children who need one. That's a 58-slot gap per 100 kids, and it's the worst structural shortfall of any Kansas city in the index. The county runs 69 licensed centers, or roughly two establishments per 1,000 children under five, less than half the national density of 4.2. Statewide, Kansas faces a 38.5% supply gap per Bipartisan Policy Center estimates; in Wichita, the math is harder. Families compete for waitlist spots that often run 6 to 18 months for infants.

Workforce — 66/100

Wichita's median childcare worker earns $13.26 an hour, or about $27,570 a year. That's 64% of the local single-adult living wage of $20.78 — meaning the people caring for the city's youngest children cannot, on a single income, afford a one-bedroom apartment, transportation, food, and healthcare without a second earner or public assistance. The wage is up modestly from prior surveys but still tracks national patterns: childcare workers are paid less than parking lot attendants and fast food cooks. Turnover compounds: when a teacher leaves a classroom, attachment ruptures for infants and toddlers who form bonds slowly.

Family strain — 55/100

Mothers' labor force participation in Wichita households with children under six runs 71%, slightly higher than both Kansas (70%) and the nation (68%). With a median household income of $63,072, that participation reads less as a discretionary career choice and more as economic necessity in a city where center care for one infant absorbs 18% of household income before taxes. Roughly 38% of Wichita kids live with a single parent, well above the state average of 29% and above the national 32%. For those households, the math gets sharper still: one income, one set of pickup duties, no backup.

Policy support — 44/100

Kansas enrolls 45% of 4-year-olds in state pre-K, just below the national midpoint, with quality benchmarks met on 6 of 10 NIEER measures and per-child spending around $4,562. The state offers no paid family leave, leaving new parents to stitch together short-term disability, FMLA's unpaid 12 weeks, and personal time. CCDF subsidy reach covers an estimated 16.5% of eligible Kansas children — below national norms — and Head Start serves about 6,400 kids statewide. Policy is measured at the state level; Wichita inherits Kansas's mid-tier policy posture without local supplements.

In-home care in Wichita

In-home care in Wichita typically reflects the broader Kansas and Plains-region nanny market, with full-time live-out rates running below the national median. With center supply tight in Sedgwick County and prices already absorbing nearly a fifth of household income, families with two or more young children — or non-traditional schedules built around manufacturing shifts at Spirit AeroSystems and Textron — increasingly weigh nanny shares as a cost-comparable alternative to center care. Au pair placements remain a thinner channel here than in coastal metros but are growing as families look for predictable in-home coverage during long aerospace shift cycles.

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.