Child Care Challenges and Adaptations: Findings from the 2025 CPS ASEC

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Working Paper Number: SEHSD-WP2026-08

This paper examines new questions introduced to the 2025 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement (CPS ASEC). We analyze child care expenses, problems obtaining care, and household responses to care disruptions. We find that 23.9% of households with children 13 years old and under paid for child care in 2024, spending an average of $10,520 annually (5.6% of household income). Only 3.7% of households reported problems obtaining adequate child care, but affected households lost an average of 65.8 days of work time. Strategies to deal with child care challenges varied by income, with high-income households using paid leave while low-income households were more likely to stay away from the labor market. 

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