Child Care Deserts — the states we cover
Child care shortages aren't spread evenly. This is an independent, drill-down map of the supply gap — children under 5 for every licensed provider — across the states Childcare Alerts covers. Click a highlighted state to open its county-by-county map, then click a county to see its licensed providers.
Highlighted states are the ones we cover — click one to explore its map.
By state
Tightest supply: Lincoln County
View the Minnesota map →WisconsinTightest supply: Shawano County
View the Wisconsin map →South DakotaTightest supply: Hamlin County
View the South Dakota map →TexasTightest supply: Shelby County
View the Texas map →PennsylvaniaTightest supply: Juniata County
View the Pennsylvania map →New YorkTightest supply: Yates County
View the New York map →ColoradoTightest supply: Conejos County
View the Colorado map →WashingtonTightest supply: Adams County
View the Washington map →DelawareTightest supply: Sussex County
View the Delaware map →MassachusettsTightest supply: Bristol County
View the Massachusetts map →ConnecticutFull provider directory and inspection records are live and searchable. No supply-gap map yet —Connecticut is mid-transition from counties to Census planning regions, so there's no reliable per-county demand data.
See the Connecticut report →NebraskaTightest supply: Harlan County
View the Nebraska map →VermontTightest supply: Chittenden County
View the Vermont map →New JerseyTightest supply: Ocean County
View the New Jersey map →Find care near you
Wherever you are, you can look up every licensed provider near you — with its public record and a link to the official state file — and, in Minnesota, get a free alert when anything changes.
Methodology & sources
Demand: children under 5 by county, U.S. Census Bureau Population Estimates. Supply: licensed providers from each state's open licensing data, geolocated to counties. State datasets differ (for example, Wisconsin's includes in-home family providers and Minnesota's does not), so the states are not directly comparable on a single scale — read each state's map on its own terms. Childcare Alerts is an independent service, not affiliated with any state agency.