# Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare

US SOC code 11-9031. Markdown version of https://futurehistory.earth/timeline/11-9031

Also called: Preschool director, Daycare director, Childcare center director, Early childhood program director, Early learning center administrator.

## In brief

In May 2025, [BLS](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip) counted **73,660** US preschool and daycare education and childcare administrators, with median pay of **$59,300** a year. Of the BLS counts since 2021, the May 2025 count is the highest. The earliest figure here is [an estimate](https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/programs/child-welfarechild-labor/nursery-schools-history/) of **70** from 1890, not measured the same way as today's count. The last full technology era in this work: Mobile-first parent communication apps, 2014 to 2023.

## What the sources say

### Official outlook

BLS projects employment to decline 3.1% from 2025 to 2035. Source: [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=11-9031&ioType=o).

### AI exposure studies

- **51.6%** of this job's tasks are exposed to large language models. Not a forecast of job losses. [Eloundou and others, 2023](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv)

Data as of BLS OEWS May 2025; BLS Employment Projections 2025-35. BLS publishes these counts as yearly survey snapshots and cautions against reading them as a precise trend.

## Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare employment and pay by year

- On record since: 1854
- Latest US employment: 73,660 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [6]
- Latest US median pay: $59,300 (May 2025). Source: BLS OEWS May 2025 [8]
- Outlook: -3.1% by 2035. Source: BLS Employment Projections 2025-35 [16]

### All 28 years of cited US data

| Year | US employment | Annual pay (median unless marked) | Source |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 1890 | 70 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Social Welfare History Project [1] |
| 1934 | 2,950 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Living New Deal [2] |
| 1944 | 3,500 (estimate) | $1,800 (estimate) | Est., US National Park Service [3] |
| 1975 | 9,400 (estimate) | n/a | Est., Children's Defense Fund [4] |
| 2000 | 56,000 (estimate) | n/a | Est., BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook [5] |
| 2003 | 56,030 | $34,500 | BLS OEWS May 2003 [6] |
| 2004 | 50,590 | $35,730 | BLS OEWS May 2004 [6] |
| 2005 | 47,670 | $37,010 | BLS OEWS May 2005 [6] |
| 2006 | 46,890 | $37,740 | BLS OEWS May 2006 [6] |
| 2007 | 47,980 | $38,580 | BLS OEWS May 2007 [6] |
| 2008 | 49,630 | $39,940 | BLS OEWS May 2008 [6] |
| 2009 | 51,140 | $41,060 | BLS OEWS May 2009 [6] |
| 2010 | 50,700 | $42,960 | BLS OEWS May 2010 [6] |
| 2011 | 49,320 | $43,830 | BLS OEWS May 2011 [6] |
| 2012 | 48,410 | $43,950 | BLS OEWS May 2012 [6] |
| 2013 | 47,560 | $44,890 | BLS OEWS May 2013 [6] |
| 2014 | 47,150 | $45,260 | BLS OEWS May 2014 [6] |
| 2015 | 46,760 | $45,670 | BLS OEWS May 2015 [6] |
| 2016 | 48,530 | $45,790 | BLS OEWS May 2016 [6] |
| 2017 | 49,130 | $46,890 | BLS OEWS May 2017 [6] |
| 2018 | 50,650 | $47,940 | BLS OEWS May 2018 [6] |
| 2019 | 52,360 | $48,210 | BLS OEWS May 2019 [6] |
| 2020 | 46,410 | $49,160 | BLS OEWS May 2020 [6] |
| 2021 | 56,430 | $47,310 | BLS OEWS May 2021 [6] |
| 2022 | 60,010 | $49,690 | BLS OEWS May 2022 [6] |
| 2023 | 64,090 | $54,290 | BLS OEWS May 2023 [6] |
| 2024 | 71,620 | $56,270 | BLS OEWS May 2024 [6] |
| 2025 | 73,660 | $59,300 | BLS OEWS May 2025 [6] |

## Sources (80)

### Employment series

1. [Social Welfare History Project — "Nursery Schools: History (1844-1919)" (day nursery city tallies circa 1890)](https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/programs/child-welfarechild-labor/nursery-schools-history/), Virginia Commonwealth University Social Welfare History Project
2. [Living New Deal — "The Crisis of Childcare: WPA Emergency Nursery Schools" (3,000 programs, 64,000 children, 43 states)](https://livingnewdeal.org/the-crisis-of-childcare/), Living New Deal / University of California
3. [US National Park Service — "Childcare on the World War II Home Front" (Lanham Act center numbers and scope)](https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/childcare-on-the-world-war-ii-home-front.htm), US National Park Service
4. [Children's Defense Fund — "Sixty Years of Head Start" (79,000 employees, 9,400 centers at 10th anniversary)](https://childrensdefense.org/sixty-years-of-head-start/), Children's Defense Fund
5. [BLS Occupational Outlook Handbook — Preschool and Childcare Center Directors (historical context and employment trends)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/preschool-and-childcare-center-directors.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
6. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Wage series

7. [US National Park Service — "Childcare on the World War II Home Front" (Lanham Act center employment context)](https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/childcare-on-the-world-war-ii-home-front.htm), US National Park Service
8. BLS OEWS, national cross-industry estimates (flat file), Bureau of Labor Statistics. Editions: [2003](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm03nat.zip), [2004](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm04nat.zip), [2005](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm05nat.zip), [2006](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm06nat.zip), [2007](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm07nat.zip), [2008](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm08nat.zip), [2009](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm09nat.zip), [2010](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm10nat.zip), [2011](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm11nat.zip), [2012](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm12nat.zip), [2013](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm13nat.zip), [2014](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm14nat.zip), [2015](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm15nat.zip), [2016](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm16nat.zip), [2017](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm17nat.zip), [2018](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm18nat.zip), [2019](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm19nat.zip), [2020](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm20nat.zip), [2021](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm21nat.zip), [2022](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm22nat.zip), [2023](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm23nat.zip), [2024](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), [2025](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm25nat.zip)

### Tool eras

9. [Social Welfare History Project — "History of Child Care in the U.S." (administrative practices of early day nurseries)](https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/programs/child-care-the-american-history/), Virginia Commonwealth University Social Welfare History Project
10. [ACF / Head Start — "Head Start History" (1965 launch and federal performance standards framework)](https://headstart.gov/about-us/article/head-start-history), Administration for Children and Families / Head Start
11. [NAEYC — "Early Learning Program Quality Assessment and Accreditation" (accreditation history since 1985)](https://www.naeyc.org/accreditation/early-learning-program-accreditation/about), NAEYC
12. [Procare Solutions — "Thirty Years of Growing Together" (ProCare founded December 1992, 40,000+ customers)](https://www.procaresoftware.com/blog/thirty-years-of-growing-together-listening-and-innovating-to-support-child-care-centers/), Procare Solutions
13. [Brightwheel — AI-automated daily reports, billing, and parent communication (product overview)](https://mybrightwheel.com/), Brightwheel
14. [Procare Solutions — RoomRunner AI enrollment planning tool launch (May 2026)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/procare-solutions-launches-roomrunner-the-first-ai-powered-enrollment-planning-tool-for-child-care-centers-302771437.html), Procare Solutions / PRNewswire
15. [Playground — Camber AI voice agent for childcare enrollment and parent calls](https://www.tryplayground.com/blog/best-ai-child-care-daycare-preschool), Playground

### Forecasts and exposure studies

16. [BLS Employment Projections 2025-35, National Employment Matrix: 11-9031 Education and childcare administrators, preschool and daycare (2025: 91.9 thousand; 2035: 89.0 thousand; -3.1%)](https://data.bls.gov/projections/nationalMatrix?queryParams=11-9031&ioType=o), Bureau of Labor Statistics
17. [Eloundou, Manning, Mishkin & Rock (2023), "GPTs are GPTs", occupation-level exposure data occ\_level.csv (O\*NET-SOC 11-9031.00, human-rated β 0.516)](https://github.com/openai/GPTs-are-GPTs/blob/main/data/occ_level.csv), OpenAI

### Historical notes

18. [Social Welfare History Project — "Nursery Schools: History (1844-1919)"](https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/programs/child-welfarechild-labor/nursery-schools-history/), Virginia Commonwealth University Social Welfare History Project
19. [Social Welfare History Project — "History of Child Care in the U.S." (Hull House and settlement house model)](https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/programs/child-care-the-american-history/), Virginia Commonwealth University Social Welfare History Project
20. [Living New Deal — "The Crisis of Childcare" (WPA Emergency Nursery Schools, 1933-1934)](https://livingnewdeal.org/the-crisis-of-childcare/), Living New Deal / University of California
21. [US National Park Service — "Childcare on the World War II Home Front" (Lanham Act 1943-1945)](https://www.nps.gov/articles/000/childcare-on-the-world-war-ii-home-front.htm), US National Park Service
22. [ACF / Head Start — "Head Start History" (1965 launch, 560,000+ children, federal performance standards)](https://headstart.gov/about-us/article/head-start-history), Administration for Children and Families / Head Start
23. [NAEYC — "Early Learning Program Quality Assessment and Accreditation" (accreditation since 1985)](https://www.naeyc.org/accreditation/early-learning-program-accreditation/about), NAEYC
24. [Bipartisan Policy Center — "History of Federal Funding for Child Care and Early Learning" (CCDBG 1990)](https://bipartisanpolicy.org/explainer/history-of-federal-funding-for-child-care-and-early-learning/), Bipartisan Policy Center
25. [PMC / Early Childhood Education Journal — "Challenges Faced by Childcare Directors During COVID-19" (Springer, 2022)](https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9628609/), Springer Nature / PMC

### Predecessors & successors

26. [BLS OOH — Preschool and Childcare Center Directors (most directors begin as teachers before moving into administration)](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/preschool-and-childcare-center-directors.htm), Bureau of Labor Statistics
27. [Social Welfare History Project — "History of Child Care in the U.S." (settlement house origins of the director role)](https://socialwelfare.library.vcu.edu/programs/child-care-the-american-history/), Virginia Commonwealth University Social Welfare History Project

### Present-day analysis

- [O\*NET 30.3 — Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare (11-9031.00)](https://www.onetonline.org/link/summary/11-9031.00), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS OOH — Preschool and Childcare Center Directors, 2024-2034 Outlook](https://www.bls.gov/ooh/management/preschool-and-childcare-center-directors.htm), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Eloundou et al. 2024 — GPTs are GPTs (Science)](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adj0998), accessed 2026-06-05
- [BLS OEWS May 2024 — Education and Childcare Administrators, Preschool and Daycare wages (national flat file)](https://www.bls.gov/oes/special-requests/oesm24nat.zip), accessed 2026-10-07
- [Procare Solutions — RoomRunner AI Enrollment Planning Tool launch (May 2026)](https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/procare-solutions-launches-roomrunner-the-first-ai-powered-enrollment-planning-tool-for-child-care-centers-302771437.html), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Procare — RoomRunner product page](https://www.procaresoftware.com/capabilities/enrollment-planning/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Brightwheel — automated billing and payment features](https://mybrightwheel.com/features/billing/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Brightwheel — AI-automated daily reports and parent communication](https://mybrightwheel.com/), accessed 2026-06-05
- [Brightwheel blog — Top 5 AI Tools for Early Childhood Educators](https://mybrightwheel.com/blog/top-5-ai-tools-for-early-childhood-educators), accessed 2026-06-05

How to read these figures: https://futurehistory.earth/methodology. Every figure links to its own source; gaps stay gaps.