Child care in Utah is in crisis. Families feel it. Employers feel it. Communities feel it. Despite years of discussion about the strain on working parents and the shortage of providers, the reality is now unavoidable. Child care is essential to our families and economy.
Today, 64% of Utah families have all available parents in the workforce, according to U.S. Census data. For these families, reliable child care is not optional. It is foundational to economic security and family stability. Yet licensed child care providers meet only about 36% of statewide need. As a result, Utah has become a textbook child care desert. An estimated 77% of Utahns live in areas with either no licensed child care providers or more than three children competing for every available slot. In four rural counties — Daggett, Piute, Rich and Wayne — there are no licensed child care providers at all. This is not a localized challenge. It is a statewide structural failure.
Watering Utah’s child care ‘deserts’
The economic consequences are substantial. Utah loses an estimated $1.36 billion each year due to worker absenteeism, reduced productivity and parents leaving the workforce because child care is unavailable or unaffordable. The state also forfeits approximately $258 million annually in income tax revenue. When child care centers close, as has happened recently in Salt Lake County, the effects are immediate. Families scramble. Businesses lose workers. Families and communities suffer.
Affordability compounds the problem. Federal health and human services guidelines recommend that child care cost no more than 7% of a family’s income. In Utah, center-based infant care averages $14,160 per year, which is about 12% of a married couple’s income and a devastating 32% of a single parent’s income. Care for an infant and a preschool-aged child costs $24,000 and is rising. By federal standards, child care is considered unaffordable in all 29 Utah counties. Utah is also among the states where infant care costs more than in-state tuition at a public university.
Providers themselves are under immense strain. Utah’s child care workforce is overwhelmingly made up of women and faces low wages, unstable enrollment and persistent staffing shortages. Research from the Utah Women and Leadership Project shows that child care workers are four times more likely than the average Utah worker to hold multiple jobs just to make ends meet. This constant turnover creates instability for children, families and employers alike. At the same time, only about one-quarter of Utah businesses recognized for supporting women offer any child care benefits.
Federal programs such as Head Start remain vital, particularly in rural communities that receive nearly half of Utah’s Head Start funding, according to the Utah Head Start Association. Any reduction in federal support would disproportionately harm the communities already facing the most severe shortages.
Utah has long prided itself on valuing families, yet fertility rates are declining both nationally and here at home. The national fertility rate fell to 1.62 births per woman in 2023, far below the 2.1 births needed to replace the population, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Utah’s fertility rate dropped to 1.80 in 2023 and has been declining or flat for 15 consecutive years. These trends reflect a growing reality: Even in Utah, economic pressures, especially child care costs, are making it harder to raise children and even have a direct impact on whether couples choose to have children.
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During the last legislative session, state leaders worked with business, community and policy partners to begin addressing this crisis through legislation included in HB106. That effort created two tax credits: a 20% credit for qualified child care construction or expansion costs for businesses and a 10% credit for ongoing employer-paid child care expenses. These credits mirrored existing federal incentives and could be stacked with them. It was an important step, but it did not match the scale of the problem.
Over the past year, federal changes have strengthened support for working families, including improvements to the Child and Dependent Care Credit, enhancements to the Employer-Provided Childcare Tax Credit, and an expanded Dependent Care Flexible Spending Account limit, according to guidance from the IRS and the U.S. Treasury.
Building on that momentum, we are advancing a new Business Childcare Tax Credit this session designed to align with federal incentives and maximize participation. By stacking state and federal credits, employers, including small businesses, can receive a tax credit of up to 80% for all qualified child care expenses paid on behalf of an employee. This approach recognizes that employers, families and communities all benefit when child care is accessible, affordable and reliable.
If Utah wants strong families, a strong economy and a stable workforce, then child care must be treated as the essential infrastructure it is. With the right tools, Utah can move from being a child care desert to becoming a national leader. This is our moment to act.
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