In 2023, the median hourly wage for a New Hampshire child care worker was $15.62 an hour. This equates to $32,490 annually, only $2,500 more than the 2023 federal poverty guideline for a family of four, and approximately half of the 2023 median salary for New Hampshire’s kindergarten teachers.  New Hampshire’s preschool teachers earned a median annual salary of $37,650 in 2023, which is $2,900 more than retail salespersons, but approximately $12,000 less than the median annual salary and wage income of all New Hampshire occupations.  Early education and child care administrators earned median salaries of $60,210 in 2023, slightly less than half the median salary for all Granite State Management Occupations ($120,650). Low wages and few, if any, benefits are likely key factors contributing to the child care workforce shortage, as workers can earn considerably more doing other work.  

Learn more about the fragile economics of the child care sector in New Hampshire in NHFPI’s May 2024 Issue Brief: The Fragile Economics of the Child Care Sector