The latest NAEYC workforce survey, conducted in January 2026 with more than 7,000 early childhood educators nationwide, confirms what those in the field already know: the system is breaking.
Twenty-two percent of respondents said they are considering leaving early childhood education within the next year. Nearly half reported increased burnout. More than half described growing feelings of uncertainty about their professional future — driven by the same forces that have defined this crisis for years: low wages, chronic staffing shortages, and the relentless physical and mental demands of caring for other people’s children.
The survey findings land in a policy environment that offers little immediate relief. While Congress approved modest increases for Head Start and the Child Care and Development Block Grant in early 2026, the administration’s proposed FY2027 budget calls for eliminating the Preschool Development Grant Birth Through Five program and CCAMPIS entirely.
Despite some reported wage increases, educators said their economic situation worsened in 2025 more than twice as often as it improved. Close to half of programs remain underenrolled — not because families don’t need care, but because they can’t afford it, and providers can’t find or retain staff at current pay levels.
This is not a labor market problem. It is a policy choice. The United States asks early childhood educators to accept poverty wages — the CSCCE Early Childhood Workforce Index places their earnings at the 3rd percentile across all occupations — to sustain a system that every working family depends on.
Sources: NAEYC 2026 ECE Workforce Survey | CSCCE Early Childhood Workforce Index 2024
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