As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, Frisco ranks the 108th largest city in the nation.

A median Frisco household earns $146,158 — nearly double the national figure — and pays the same $13,139 a year for infant center care that any other Collin County family pays. The arithmetic produces a 9.0% childcare cost burden, the lowest of 250 American cities measured by Beverly's the score. Frisco scores 73/100, third nationally, behind only Pearland and McKinney. A single-parent share of 13% — among the lowest in the dataset — and a corporate-relocation footprint dating to the 2010s explain the demographic profile. Texas, meanwhile, contributes nothing distinctive: $4,682 per pre-K child, no paid leave, two of NIEER's ten benchmarks. Frisco's outlier status is a product of private wealth, not public scaffolding.

Key highlights & actionable takeaways

Third nationally, score 73 (Strong) — fastest-growing US county, corporate-relocation suburb of DFW.
Infant care: 9.0% of household income, the lowest cost-burden in the 250-city dataset; $146,158 median income, nearly double the national figure.
Single-parent share 13%, among the lowest measured; the affluence is private, the Texas policy floor is bottom-half.

Actionable takeaways

Frisco is the cleanest test of the "buy your way out" hypothesis. With a $146,158 median income and a 9.0% cost burden — the lowest in the country — Frisco shows what happens when a corporate-relocation suburb concentrates dual-earner six-figure households inside a low-tuition county. The result is a national-best affordability number with no policy underpinning.
The 13% single-parent share is the demographic anchor. Reporters should ask whether Frisco's outlier ranking would survive a more typical family-formation profile, or whether the score is partly a function of who has been priced out of the city in the first place.
The Collin County workforce floor is the leading indicator to watch. Frisco posts a 33/100 workforce score on the same $14.31/hour metro wage as Dallas; rising housing costs in Collin will widen that gap and pressure infant-room staffing first.

Affordability — 100/100

A year of infant center care in Frisco runs about $13,139, drawn from US Department of Labor pricing for Collin County. Toddler care at a center sits near $12,024 a year; family child care is slightly cheaper at roughly $11,442 for an infant.

What makes those prices feel affordable is income, not discount. Frisco's median household income is $146,158 — nearly double the national median of $78,538 and well above the Texas state median of $76,292. That means infant center care consumes only 9.0% of typical household income locally, compared to 15.6% statewide and 21.9% nationally.

Put differently: a Frisco family earning the local median spends roughly $4,000 less per child than the national median household pays, while earning more than double. Childcare runs about 58 cents on every dollar of rent, an inversion of the national norm where care costs more than rent.

Supply — 76/100

Collin County, Frisco's county of record, supports about 56 licensed slots per 100 children under five with working parents — well below the national average of 73 but high enough to keep the county clear of "childcare desert" status. Establishment density is healthy at 4.4 licensed providers per 1,000 children under five, above both the Texas (3.2) and national (4.2) baselines.

The supply picture in Collin County is markedly stronger than the Texas state average, where licensed capacity meets only a fraction of estimated demand. Frisco's growth trajectory — Collin is one of the fastest-growing US counties — has so far been matched by provider expansion, though the slot-per-kid ratio leaves real waiting-list pressure for under-twos.

Workforce — 33/100

Childcare workers across the Dallas-Plano-Irving metro earn a median $14.31 an hour, or about $29,760 a year. Against a single-adult living wage of $24.14 in the area, that wage covers only 59.3% of what one adult needs to support themselves locally — let alone a household.

The math is the same one driving turnover in centers everywhere: the people responsible for the youngest children in one of America's wealthiest suburbs cannot themselves afford to live in it. Texas has no state-funded supplement to compensate, which leaves Frisco centers competing for a labor pool that is structurally short.

Family strain — 77.5/100

Mothers of children under six in Frisco participate in the labor force at 69.6%, slightly above the national rate of 68.2% and well above the Texas state average of 62.8%. Combined with a single-parent share of just 12.97% — among the lowest in the dataset — Frisco reads as a city where two-earner households are the default and the supports are largely private.

That low single-parent share is the city's most distinctive demographic signal. It reflects Collin County's age, income, and family-formation profile and is one reason Frisco's family strain score lands so high: most households here have two adult earners absorbing the logistical burden.

Policy support — 48.1/100

Frisco's policy score is inherited from Texas, which enrolls 52% of four-year-olds in state pre-K, spends $4,682 per pre-K child, and meets two of NIEER's ten quality benchmarks. The CCDF subsidy reaches about 16.4% of eligible Texas children. Texas offers no state-funded paid family leave. Policy is measured at the state level, so Frisco families benefit from local affluence — not a stronger public scaffold than peers elsewhere in Texas.

In-home care in Frisco

In-home care in Frisco reflects broader DFW nanny-market patterns, with full-time live-out rates in line with the upper end of the Texas market — driven by Collin County household incomes and the high share of dual-earner professional families. Nanny shares between two Frisco families are an increasingly common tactic for splitting infant-care costs that even high earners find sharp. Au pair placements have a small but visible footprint among households drawn to predictable weekly costs and live-in flexibility.

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.