Number and share of child care workers who would benefit from the Raise the Wage Act of 2021, by state
| State | Share of child care workers affected | Total child care workforce | Total number of affected child care workers |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | 72.3% | 21,000 | 15,000 |
| Alaska | NA | NA | NA |
| Arizona | 59.6% | 23,000 | 13,000 |
| Arkansas | 69.1% | 14,000 | 10,000 |
| California | NA | 142,000 | NA |
| Colorado | 38.7% | 21,000 | 8,000 |
| Connecticut | NA | 18,000 | NA |
| Delaware | NA | NA | NA |
| Washington D.C. | NA | NA | NA |
| Florida | 61.4% | 70,000 | 43,000 |
| Georgia | 66.3% | 43,000 | 29,000 |
| Hawaii | NA | NA | NA |
| Idaho | NA | NA | NA |
| Illinois | NA | 48,000 | NA |
| Indiana | 66.4% | 22,000 | 15,000 |
| Iowa | 72.8% | 14,000 | 10,000 |
| Kansas | 76.3% | 11,000 | 9,000 |
| Kentucky | 78.8% | 18,000 | 14,000 |
| Louisiana | 72.0% | 14,000 | 10,000 |
| Maine | NA | NA | NA |
| Maryland | NA | 28,000 | NA |
| Massachusetts | NA | 35,000 | NA |
| Michigan | 58.6% | 31,000 | 18,000 |
| Minnesota | 31.5% | 25,000 | 8,000 |
| Mississippi | 69.0% | 13,000 | 9,000 |
| Missouri | 62.8% | 25,000 | 16,000 |
| Montana | NA | NA | NA |
| Nebraska | 68.9% | 12,000 | 8,000 |
| Nevada | 64.4% | 7,000 | 4,000 |
| New Hampshire | NA | NA | NA |
| New Jersey | NA | 37,000 | NA |
| New Mexico | 69.1% | 7,000 | 5,000 |
| New York | 15.7% | 93,000 | 15,000 |
| North Carolina | 61.1% | 45,000 | 27,000 |
| North Dakota | NA | NA | NA |
| Ohio | 63.8% | 41,000 | 26,000 |
| Oklahoma | 73.0% | 15,000 | 11,000 |
| Oregon | 22.7% | 15,000 | 3,000 |
| Pennsylvania | 64.2% | 52,000 | 33,000 |
| Rhode Island | NA | NA | NA |
| South Carolina | 65.1% | 19,000 | 12,000 |
| South Dakota | NA | NA | NA |
| Tennessee | 64.6% | 26,000 | 17,000 |
| Texas | 70.0% | 118,000 | 83,000 |
| Utah | 75.2% | 8,000 | 6,000 |
| Vermont | NA | NA | NA |
| Virginia | 52.1% | 43,000 | 22,000 |
| Washington | 27.1% | 31,000 | 9,000 |
| West Virginia | NA | NA | NA |
| Wisconsin | 67.1% | 24,000 | 16,000 |
| Wyoming | NA | NA | NA |
Notes: “Child care workers” refers to workers in the “Child care” or “Pre-K and kindergarten teachers” occupation classifications (from the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ American Community Survey), excluding those who work in the “Elementary and secondary schools” industry. We do not report data for states where the total child care workforce sample size is less than 250. We also do not report counts and shares of affected workers for states where less than 1,000 workers are affected; this is the case for states where the state minimum wage is already scheduled to reach $15 by 2025.
Source: Economic Policy Institute Minimum Wage Simulation Model; see Technical Methodology by Cooper, Mokhiber, and Zipperer (2019).