As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, Salem ranks the 147th largest city in the nation.

Salem, Oregon's state capital, outranks both Portland and Eugene on the score — the inversion driven by Marion County's lighter price environment, not by any policy advantage over its peers. A year of center-based infant care here runs $13,781, about $3,800 below the Oregon state average and 19.2% of the city's $71,900 median household income. Tuition costs less than rent, an inversion of the national pattern. Single-parent households account for 38.8% of Salem families with children, well above the 31.8% national share, but the lighter price environment helps absorb the load. Oregon's state policy floor — 12 weeks of paid family leave at 100% replacement for low-wage workers, $18,637 per pre-K child — applies in full. Salem ranks 60th of 250.

Key highlights & actionable takeaways

60th nationally, score 59 (Moderate) — Oregon's highest-ranked city, ahead of Portland and Eugene; Marion County state capital.
Marion County prices keep infant care to $13,781 a year — 19.2% of the city's $71,900 median income, the lightest burden in the Pacific Northwest cohort.
Single-parent households make up 38.8% of families with children — well above the 31.8% national share — even as the affordability picture leads the cohort.

Actionable takeaways

Salem outranks both Portland and Eugene on Oregon's scoreboard. The state capital's lighter Marion County price environment — $13,781 a year for infant care, well below the state average — is what produces the inversion. Local pricing, not policy, is the reason.
Childcare costs less than rent here — an inversion of the national pattern. The 0.87 childcare-to-rent ratio is one of the few in the cohort. That structural relief makes the 19.2% income burden the lightest in the Pacific Northwest cohort.
The 38.8% single-parent share is the highest in the Pacific cohort outside Tacoma. Even with the affordability lift, that demographic concentration leaves a meaningful share of households one missed shift away from a binding crisis. Worth pairing the headline price story with single-parent reality.

Affordability — 58/100

A year of infant center care in Marion County runs $13,781 — about $3,380 below the $17,163 national figure and roughly $3,800 below the Oregon state average of $17,587. Salem prices look notably lighter than what families pay one hour north on I-5. Against the city's $71,900 median household income, infant tuition consumes 19.2% of pre-tax pay — the lightest burden in this regional cohort and almost three points under the 21.9% national figure.

Toddler and preschool center care both run $13,662, with family-childcare-home rates dropping to $9,620. Childcare to rent runs 0.87 here — well below the 1.06 national figure and a meaningful difference: a Salem family pays roughly 13 cents less per dollar of rent toward one infant slot than the typical US household. For a Salem family with one infant in full-time center care, the math comes to roughly $1,148 a month in tuition against a $1,323 median rent — childcare costs less than housing here, an inversion of the national pattern.

Supply — 65/100

Marion County logs an estimated 10,627 licensed slots against 26,205 kids under five with working parents — 41 slots per 100 such kids, identical to the Multnomah County reading and outside childcare-desert territory. The county counts 118 licensed establishments, or 5.65 sites per 1,000 children under five, comfortably above the national density (4.21) but below Oregon's strong statewide baseline (8.09). Statewide, Oregon's gap between potential demand and licensed supply runs 34.9% per the Bipartisan Policy Center, well below the national pattern.

Workforce — 86/100

The median Marion County childcare worker earns $17.10 an hour — about $35,570 a year — equal to 68.3% of the local single-adult living wage of $25.02. That ratio sits roughly six points above the 62.6% national figure and 2.4 points above Oregon's statewide reading of 65.9%. Roughly 370 OEWS-counted workers staff the metro's licensed centers and homes. The wage strength reflects Salem's lower local cost-of-living floor more than dramatic pay gains, but the practical implication for families is real: Salem centers face less of the bidding pressure that drives turnover in Portland and Seattle, which helps stabilize caregiver-child relationships.

Family strain — 41/100

Mothers of kids under six work outside the home at a 67.1% rate in Salem — close to the 68.2% national figure and almost exactly Oregon's state average of 67.5%. Single-parent share runs 38.8%, well above the 31.8% US figure and the highest in the Pacific cohort outside Tacoma. Combined with the affordability picture, the reading describes a city where the lighter price environment helps single-parent households absorb childcare costs more reasonably than in higher-cost Pacific metros, but where the underlying family structure still leaves many households on the margin.

Policy support — 43/100

Oregon enrolls 17% of 4-year-olds and 12% of 3-year-olds in state pre-K, spending $18,637 per enrolled child — among the highest per-child spending figures in the country — and meeting 7.6 of NIEER's 10 quality benchmarks. The state CCDF subsidy reaches 14.9% of eligible families and serves about 16,500 children a month. Oregon's Paid Family and Medical Leave program, in effect since 2023, offers up to 12 weeks at 100% wage replacement for low-wage workers. Policy is measured at the state level; every Oregon city in this index inherits the same 42.5 score.

In-home care in Salem

In-home care in Salem tracks the broader Willamette Valley nanny market, with full-time live-out rates running below Portland-metro bands and closer to mid-size West Coast cities. Family childcare homes carry a heavier share of formal capacity here than the national average, consistent with Oregon's small-operator-friendly policy environment. Nanny shares between two families have grown as a workaround for households priced out of single-family nanny rates, and the au pair channel sees use among state-government and healthcare dual-career households needing live-in coverage.

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.