New Vanderbilt Study Finds Nashville Child Care System Faces Interconnected Challenges in Supply, Workforce, and Affordability

Vanderbilt University’s Prenatal-to-3 Policy Impact Center released a five-part research series examining greater Nashville’s child care landscape, finding the region lacks sufficient capacity with only 22,184 licensed slots for over 40,000 working families with young children. The study reveals interconnected challenges: approximately 91% of early educators earn below the $22.50 living wage threshold, and families pay $1,645 monthly for infant care when high-quality care actually costs $3,457. The research highlights how supply, workforce compensation, and affordability form a tightly linked system requiring coordinated policy responses.