Factors

• Location affects the salaries of daycare workers, as does the type of daycare facility and the worker's training, education, role and experience level. Employees on daycare payrolls must earn at least minimum wage. However, self-employed daycare workers could earn less than the minimum wage, depending on how much they charge for daycare services and the number of children enrolled.
  
  

Identification

• Daycare workers include nannies, child-care center employees and self-employed, family, child-care providers. Center workers include those who work for preschool programs, early childhood programs or state programs such as Head Start. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that 1/3 of daycare workers are self-employed. Child-care employment is projected to climb to 1.5 million by 2018.
  
  

The Facts

• The median pay for child-care workers in 2008 was $9.12 and hour. The Bureau of Labor Statistics adds that earnings capped at close to $14 an hour, with $7.04 marking the lowest recorded salary. Earnings for child-care workers in 2009 show a slight increase, with the bureau reporting a median wage of $9.25. The wide range of daycare salaries is partly attributable to the assortment of daycare positions included in the statistics.
  
  

Types

• Daycare administrators earned an average annual salary of $37,270 in 2008, while managers earned a median wage of $29,560, per the Bureau of Labor Statistics. General child-care employees earned an average of $17,440. Although family childcare providers are included in the average, licensed home providers are self-employed and set their fee schedule independently. In such cases, salary depends on several variables, including enrollment. The average salary for full-time, live-out nannies in 2009 ranged from $450 to more than $1,000 per week, according to the International Nanny Association.
  
  

Benefits

• Paid benefits for child-care workers is not the norm, However, child-care facilities may offer workers discounted child care. Although it is possible to find a daycare position with benefits in a for-profit program, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reports that nonprofit and religiously affiliated programs typically offer higher wages and better benefits packages. The International Nanny Association reports that close to 70 percent of nannies receive paid holidays and vacations and approximately 30 percent receive fully paid or partially paid health benefits.