As cost of child care spirals, Tucson officials look to bridge the gap

Affordable, high-quality child care has become out of reach for more than 90% of Arizona families, with Hispanic women facing an even steeper challenge to obtain those services due in large part to an insurmountable wage disparity.

Research by The Economic Policy Institute, an independent, nonprofit think tank, shows that child care is unaffordable for typical families in Arizona, and completely out of reach for minimum wage workers, who make $12.15 per hour. In 2019, Tucson’s median household income was $43,425, substantially lower than the state’s median household income of $58,945, according to the most recent census data.