Childcare Workers — Career Decision Dashboard
United States
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Report generated from official BLS OEWS and O*NET data — United States.
Median annual wage
$34,980
United States, 2025
Employment
518,910
United States, 2025
Typical education
High School Diploma or the equivalent (such as a GED)
Job Zone 2
Skills identified
35
10 related careers
Career overview
Attend to children at schools, businesses, private households, and childcare institutions. Perform a variety of tasks, such as dressing, feeding, bathing, and overseeing play.
- O*NET code
- 39-9011.00
- Job zone
- 2
- Experience required
- Over 1 year, up to and including 2 years
Typical tasks
- Maintain a safe play environment.
- Observe and monitor children's play activities.
- Communicate with children's parents or guardians about daily activities, behaviors, and related issues.
- Support children's emotional and social development, encouraging understanding of others and positive self-concepts.
- Care for children in institutional setting, such as group homes, nursery schools, private businesses, or schools for people with disabilities.
- Sanitize toys and play equipment.
- Dress children and change diapers.
- Keep records on individual children, including daily observations and information about activities, meals served, and medications administered.
Choose a location
Salary analysis — United States
10th percentile
$24,260
25th percentile
$29,360
75th percentile
$38,570
90th percentile
$46,010
Most important skills
- Monitoring3.5
- Service Orientation3.4
- Social Perceptiveness3.3
- Speaking3.1
- Coordination3.1
- Active Listening3.1
- Critical Thinking3.1
- Judgment and Decision Making3.0
- Writing3.0
- Reading Comprehension3.0
- Active Learning3.0
- Learning Strategies3.0
What skills do you need?
Select the skills you already have
Skills listed are those O*NET rates at importance 3.0 or above for this occupation. Set your own level on the same 0–7 O*NET scale.
Skill coverage
0%
0 of 14 identified skills
Matched
0
Missing
14
Your selected skills cover approximately 0% of the skills identified for this occupation in O*NET. This is a coverage measure of listed skills only — it is not a qualification, hiring or interview outcome.
Skills to develop
| Skill | Importance | Required level | Your level | Gap |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Service Orientation | 3.4 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Monitoring | 3.5 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Social Perceptiveness | 3.3 | 3.3 | Not selected | 3.3 |
| Speaking | 3.1 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Coordination | 3.1 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Active Listening | 3.1 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Critical Thinking | 3.1 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Learning Strategies | 3.0 | 3.1 | Not selected | 3.1 |
| Judgment and Decision Making | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Reading Comprehension | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Active Learning | 3.0 | 3.0 | Not selected | 3.0 |
| Writing | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Instructing | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
| Complex Problem Solving | 3.0 | 2.9 | Not selected | 2.9 |
Ordered by required level gap multiplied by O*NET importance. No prediction or recommendation is implied.
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Compare with Childcare WorkersHow salary varies by location
| Location | Median | Employment | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| DC | $47,340 | 1,350 | 2025 |
| North Port, FL | $47,300 | 1,530 | 2025 |
| San Jose, CA | $45,720 | 3,090 | 2025 |
| San Francisco, CA | $44,540 | 8,260 | 2025 |
| Denver, CO | $44,320 | 7,870 | 2025 |
| Seattle, WA | $43,710 | 2,520 | 2025 |
| Barnstable Town, MA | $43,480 | 270 | 2025 |
| Boulder, CO | $43,380 | 1,060 | 2025 |
| San Luis Obispo, CA | $42,860 | 370 | 2025 |
| Longview, WA | $42,300 | 30 | 2025 |
| Modesto, CA | $41,920 | 660 | 2025 |
| WA | $41,680 | 4,340 | 2025 |
| Boston, MA | $41,590 | 10,440 | 2025 |
| Napa, CA | $41,570 | 170 | 2025 |
| Santa Rosa, CA | $41,260 | 620 | 2025 |
| MA | $40,900 | 13,140 | 2025 |
| CO | $40,750 | 13,310 | 2025 |
| Amherst Town, MA | $40,560 | 240 | 2025 |
| Riverside, CA | $40,210 | 5,110 | 2025 |
| Mount Vernon, WA | $40,150 | 60 | 2025 |
Career transition paths
Compare the skills of a career you hold today with Childcare Workers to see shared skills, target-only skills and skill overlap.
Build a transition comparisonCareer and skills data: O*NET 31.0.
Salary and employment data: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, OEWS, 2025 (May 2025 release).
Figures are periodic published survey snapshots, not real-time market rates.