As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, Madison ranks the 79th largest city in the nation.

Mothers' labor force participation in Madison households with kids under six runs 81.3% — among the highest figures in the 250-city index, thirteen points above the national rate. The University of Wisconsin's faculty, staff, and adjacent state-government workforce drive a labor market that pulls women into work as an opportunity rather than a necessity, even as Dane County charges $24,267 a year for one infant in a licensed center — the highest infant figure in the Midwest 4 cluster, $7,100 above the national median. The city's $76,983 median household income, the highest in the cluster, softens the burden to 31.5% of pre-tax pay. The 51/100 composite ranks Madison 119th nationally and first in Wisconsin, eight points clear of Milwaukee, the cleanest example here of the university-economy effect on childcare math.

Key highlights & actionable takeaways

Score 51/100, Moderate, ranked 119 of 250 — first of two Wisconsin cities, eight points clear of Milwaukee.
Infant care in Dane County runs $24,267/yr — the highest figure in the Midwest 4 cluster, 31.5% of a $76,983 household income.
Mothers' LFP for kids under six runs 81.3%, among the highest in the 250-city index; thirteen points above the national rate.

Actionable takeaways

Madison is the cleanest UW-and-government economy effect in the cluster. $24,267 infant tuition — Midwest 4 cluster's highest — coexists with the cluster's highest income, the highest mothers' LFP, and a 32% single-parent share that matches the national average. The university pulls all the relevant variables in the same direction.
Don't read Madison as Milwaukee. Same Wisconsin 4K program, two completely different economies — Dane County's $76,983 income is roughly $25,000 above Milwaukee's. The eight-point composite gap (51 vs. 43) understates the family-experience divergence.
Watch UW-Madison and UW Health as the dominant employer pair. Their family benefits — and any sponsored childcare expansion — set the regional benchmark; Office of the Provost and UW Health HR are the local follow-ups for the in-home and nanny-share growth visible in Shorewood Hills and Maple Bluff.

Affordability — 9/100

A year of infant center care in Dane County runs $24,267 in 2025 — about $7,100 above the national figure of $17,163, and the highest sticker price in the Midwest 4 cluster. Madison's $76,983 median household income — the highest in this cluster — softens the blow, but the bill still consumes 31.5% of a typical paycheck. Across Wisconsin, the same care averages $18,301 and consumes 24.2% of household income; nationally, 21.9%. Childcare runs 1.48 times annual rent here, against Madison's median monthly rent of $1,364. For a Madison family with one infant in full-time care, that pencils out to roughly $2,022 a month in tuition — about $660 above the city's median rent. Family-childcare-home options run $18,580 a year, only modestly less.

Supply — 69/100

Dane County logs an estimated 15,491 licensed slots against 36,942 kids under 5 with working parents — about 41.9 slots per 100 such kids, the same ratio as Milwaukee and well below the national figure of 73. The county counts 191 licensed establishments, working out to 6.54 providers per 1,000 children under 5 — above both the national density (4.21) and Wisconsin's statewide baseline (4.72). Like Milwaukee, the picture is many providers with smaller average enrollment, leaving the slot-per-kid ratio tight even as establishment density runs above average. UW-Madison's employer footprint and the metro's strong labor-force participation keep demand running well ahead of supply.

Workforce — 62/100

The median Madison childcare worker earns $15.30 an hour — about $31,820 a year — equal to 63.6% of the local single-adult living wage of $24.05. The hourly wage is one of the higher figures in the Midwest cluster but the living-wage bar is also higher; Madison's cost of living tracks the metro's high tuition prices. Roughly 400 workers show in OEWS for the metro proper. Retention is the durable problem at this wage band, particularly with UW-Madison and the state government competing for the same labor pool at higher wages.

Family strain — 82.3/100

Mothers of kids under 6 work outside the home at an 81.3% rate in Madison — among the highest figures in the 250-city index and 13 points above the national rate (68.2%). Single-parent share comes in at 32%, almost identical to the national 31.8%. With the highest median household income in this cluster and a near-national single-parent share, the high mothers' LFP reads as labor-market opportunity rather than necessity — a university-and-government economy pulling more mothers into work, and tuition prices that demand two earners to absorb.

Policy support — 65.9/100

Wisconsin enrolls about 63% of 4-year-olds through its 4K program — one of the higher rates in the country — and 0.1% of 3-year-olds. The state spends roughly $3,812 per enrolled child but meets only 2 of NIEER's 10 quality benchmarks. Wisconsin's CCDF subsidy reaches 29.1% of eligible families and serves about 27,800 children a month. The state offers no statewide paid family or medical leave program. Policy is measured at the state level; both Madison and Milwaukee inherit the same 65.9 score on this dimension.

In-home care in Madison

In-home care in Madison reflects the metro's university-and-government economy, with full-time live-out nanny rates running above the broader Wisconsin baseline and trending highest in Maple Bluff, Shorewood Hills, and the west side neighborhoods that anchor dual-physician and dual-academic households. Nanny shares between two families have become a common workaround for parents priced out of single-family rates and infant center tuition. Au pair placements are growing among households tied to UW Health and the state research labs, where live-in coverage and predictable cost beat hourly market rates.

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.