The Economic Well-Being of Early Educators in California

A new look at the reality of the economic well-being of California’s early educators points to the need to address persistent financial insecurities, low wages, and racial and ethnic disparities in economic well-being in early care and education. 

This is the third in a series of reports on early educator well-being, drawn from our statewide survey of nearly 1,800 early educators.

Our findings show that: 

• Worries about affording basic needs are high among educators as wages remain low. Educators struggle with their rent and mortgage payments and many do not have enough food. 
• A large share of educators report having little-to-no savings for retirement, particularly FCC providers— less than one third of FCC providers had such savings.  The historic agreement between the State of California and CCPU, which includes $80-million retirement fund (Child Care Providers Fund United, 2023) is a welcome development for FCC providers,  and needs to be extended to all early educators to ensure equitable access to retirement benefits.
• There are racial and ethnic disparities in economic well-being among early educators. Home ownership was lower and food insufficiency was higher among educators of color, who were also more likely to claim unemployment benefits and have lower wages than their White colleagues.

The California Early Care and Education Workforce Study is a longitudinal study that captures comprehensive statewide and regional information on the center- and home-based ECE workforce. It provides important data over time.