U.S. – Idaho ranks as the freest of the 50 states when it comes to childcare regulations, while Vermont is the least free, according to a new report from the Archbridge Institute.
Vice president of policy at the Archbridge Institute Edward Timmons told The Center Square that its index “is meant to give state policymakers some guidance on how regulations compare across states.”
“Finding this information is not easy and the index boils down this comparison to a unique and novel ranking,” Timmons said.
“Academic research provides evidence that stricter regulation is associated with higher childcare prices, but there is little evidence that it improves child safety.” Timmons told The Center Square.
“The lack of affordable childcare reduces parent labor force participation, especially for mothers,” Timmons said.
“As states look to improve access to childcare services, special attention should be paid to regulation so that it properly balances safety with affordability and access,” Timmons said.
The Archbridge Institute is a non-partisan public policy think tank as stated on its website.
Archbridge’s 2026 State Childcare Regulations Index shows that “the state with the most childcare freedom and the lowest regulatory burden is Idaho (#1), followed by South Carolina (#2), Arizona (#3), Alabama (#4), and Florida (#5).”
Meanwhile, “the state with the least childcare freedom and highest regulatory burden is Vermont (#50), preceded by New York (#49), Pennsylvania (#48), Maryland (#47), and Massachusetts (#46).”
Regulations do not appear to fall strictly along political lines, with California and Hawaii placing at 13 and 11 respectively, Indiana placing at 40, and Wisconsin at 41.
The report’s authors wrote that “before improving access to affordable childcare for American families, we first need to study the variation across states and evaluate the trade-offs between regulatory intensity and access to care.”
“Rather than pursuing costly taxpayer-funded subsidies and state-sponsored programs, we recommend reducing regulatory burdens on childcare providers that ultimately harm parents by increasing barriers to entry and raising the cost of childcare,” the authors wrote.
“On the issue of childcare, a more affordable America means a less regulated America – from one state to the next,” the authors wrote.
The authors are Archbridge family policy fellow Anna Claire Flowers, professor of Economics and Archbridge social mobility fellow Vincent Geloso, Challey Institute for Global Innovation and Growth research specialist Ricky Feir, and Challey undergraduate research assistant Samuel Tipka.
State policies and regulations considered in Archbridge’s index include “child-to-staff ratio requirements by age, maximum group sizes by age, required annual training hours for staff, and minimum educational requirements for center directors and lead teachers.”
According to an Archbridge release, federal funding as expected plays a role in childcare regulations.
“Federal funding tied to the 2014 reauthorization of the Child Care and Development Block Grant required all states receiving federal funding to implement group size and child-to-staff ratio restrictions, in addition to other new licensure requirements,” the release said.
“This federal program, which aims to preserve parental choice while addressing childcare availability, directly led to an increase in state-based regulations,” the release said.
Archbridge’s release gave New Mexico – which ranked at 18 in the index – as an example of a state that “announced an increase in childcare investment, accompanied by expanded regulatory oversight.”
“Since launching its Early Childhood Education and Care Department in 2020, New Mexico has issued new regulations, including lower child-to-staff ratios and smaller group sizes,” the release said.
