As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, Lakewood ranks the 198th largest city in the nation.

Lakewood is a statistical outlier in the 250-city dataset. Just 7.3% of households with children are headed by a single parent — the lowest share in the cohort. Only 31.6% of kids under six have all available parents working, also among the lowest nationally. The numbers reflect the country's largest Orthodox Jewish community in a city of this size: large families, one parent typically at home full-time, and substantial in-community care networks that do not appear in licensing data. Center-based infant care runs $16,000 a year in Ocean County, eating 27.7% of a $57,600 median household income — tight on a single earner. The city scores 51, Moderate tier, ranking 121st nationally and second in New Jersey, with a family-strain reading of 91 of 100, the highest in the cluster.

Key highlights & actionable takeaways

Ranked 121st of 250 nationally, score 51 (Moderate); second in New Jersey with a family-strain score of 91/100, highest in the cluster.
7.3% single-parent share, lowest in the entire 250-city dataset; reflects the country's largest Orthodox Jewish community in a city this size.
Just 31.6% of kids under six have all parents working, among the lowest nationally; one parent typically stays home full-time.

Actionable takeaways

Don't read the 7.3% single-parent share as a policy outcome. It reflects the country's largest Orthodox Jewish community in a city of this size — household structure, not childcare access. A national journalist reaching for "family stability" framing would be misreading the data.
The local angle is the licensed sector understating effective supply. A substantial share of Lakewood childcare runs through in-community arrangements and unlicensed family care that doesn't appear in Ocean County licensing data. The 2.65 establishments per 1,000 kids — the cluster's lowest — is a partial picture.
Watch the affordability cliff. $16,000 infant care on a $57,600 single-earner median runs 27.7% of pretax pay. New Jersey policy supports apply, but the household structure means many Lakewood families absorb full-cost care without a second income to share the load.

Affordability — 35/100

Center-based infant care in Ocean County runs about $16,000 a year in 2025 — below the New Jersey state average of $18,500 but above the national median of $17,200. Family child care is similar at $14,700. Lakewood's median household income is $57,600, which puts infant center care at 27.7% of pre-tax pay — nearly four times the federal 7% affordability threshold and meaningfully worse than the New Jersey average. Childcare runs 81% of monthly rent here, an extremely tight combined load for households relying on a single earner. Lakewood prices look "average" until placed against the income of households where one parent commits to home care, and the gap shows up immediately.

Supply — 54/100

Ocean County offers an estimated 56.8 licensed slots per 100 kids with working parents — middling by NJ standards, but the county's 2.65 establishments per 1,000 children under five is the lowest in this New Jersey cluster, well below the national rate of 4.21. The licensed-provider count understates effective supply in Lakewood, where a substantial share of childcare happens through informal in-community arrangements and unlicensed family care that doesn't appear in licensing data. Ocean County is not a childcare desert by any standard measure, but the formal market is thinner than Hudson or Essex.

Workforce — 14/100

Childcare workers across the New York-Newark metro earn a median $17.57 an hour — roughly $36,500 a year, or 55.8% of the local living wage of $31.50/hour for a single adult. The wage is competitive nationally but inadequate locally. Lakewood programs face the same retention pressure as the rest of the metro, with the added challenge that a thinner formal sector means fewer career-path options for credentialed early educators within commuting distance.

Family strain — 91.0/100

The strain math here is unusual and worth flagging. Just 7.3% of Lakewood households with kids are single-parent — the lowest share of any city in the index's 250-city cohort. Only 31.6% of kids under six have all available parents working, also among the lowest nationally. Mothers' labor-force participation is 74.3%, above the state average, but the broader household pattern reflects a community where the Orthodox Jewish population — by far the largest in any US city of this size — shapes household structure: large families, one parent typically at home, and substantial in-community care networks. The high strain score reflects what the formal data picks up; the lived experience of a Lakewood family is shaped as much by social infrastructure as by the licensed sector.

Policy support — 76.2/100

Lakewood inherits New Jersey's policy stack: 34% of four-year-olds in publicly funded pre-K, $17,911 per child in pre-K spending (third-highest in the country, behind DC and Oregon), nine of ten NIEER quality benchmarks met, 12 weeks of paid family leave at 85% wage replacement, and CCDF reach of 46.2%. For Ocean County families using formal care, these supports apply identically to the rest of the state. Policy is measured at the state level.

In-home care in Lakewood

In-home care in Lakewood typically reflects the broader New York-Newark-Jersey City metro nanny market, though Lakewood's effective demand pattern is unlike any other city in the state. Many households rely on extended family, in-community arrangements, and unlicensed family care that doesn't appear in licensed-provider counts. Where families do hire nannies, full-time live-out rates fall in line with the broader Ocean County and central-NJ market.

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.