Back-to-School Edition

August 2026 Newsletter

Finding quality child care in North Dakota isn't just about preference—sometimes it's about sheer availability. Child care facilities statewide are operating close to their capacity, wait lists are long, and costs for available child care spots continue to increase. In this month's article, Avram 'Avi' Slone, Research Specialist at the North Dakota State University Center for Social Research, highlights findings from the 2025 Annual Market Rate Survey of all licensed child care providers in North Dakota, and reveals how capacity-constrained, over-enrolled, and costly North Dakota's child care system has become.

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With nearly three-fourths of North Dakota’s young children living in households where all parents work, access to licensed child care is essential for the state’s working families. Overall, data indicate that North Dakota's licensed child care capacity ratio is 1.6 young children for every licensed child care spot statewide, which is within the recommended standard of 3 young children to every 1 licensed child care spot. However, the child care capacity ratio varies dramatically by county. While some counties have almost enough capacity for every young child, others face severe shortages with nearly 13 young children for a single spot, and two North Dakota counties lack licensed child care capacity entirely.

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