This brief from Child Care Services Association provides states and cities with background knowledge to develop early childhood workforce salary scales. With early educators earning less than a living wage despite being credentialed, a salary scale can serve as a tool for state and local early care and education leaders to base compensation, increase wages, and drive recruitment and retention. Readers will walk away with key considerations for planning and implementing a salary scale both state- and city-wide.
A Look at Salary/Wage Scales for the Early Childhood Educator Workforce
Related Resources
Early Educator Wage Growth Under Massachusetts’ C3 Program
This analysis examines wage growth among center-based early care and education (ECE) programs, using monthly application data submitted by nearly […]
Published 2026
Designing a Wage Increase Pilot: A Framework for Supporting Early Educators in Contra Costa County
This report provides a framework for Contra Costa County to launch a wage supplement pilot. The concept includes details on […]
Published 2025
Child Care Workforce Retention Incentives
This evidence review from the Prenatal to Three Policy Center outlines how workforce incentives can help reduce turnover and create […]
Published 2025
Related Key Topics
Compensation & Financial Relief Strategies
Investments and initiatives to ensure compensation equal to that of a skilled professional, accounting for an educator’s qualifications, expertise, and experience
Workforce Data
State-level collection of data on the size, characteristics, and working conditions of the ECE workforce