Table 202.30a.

Percentage distribution of children who were under 6 years old and not yet in kindergarten, by main reason household wanted a child care program, primary reason for difficulty finding child care, and selected child and family characteristics: 2016

[Standard errors appear in parentheses]
Selected child or family characteristic	For children who had nonparental care in the past year, main reason household wanted a care program															For children whose parent/guardian reported any difficulty finding care, primary reason for the difficulty1
	Provide care when a parent was at work or school			Prepare child for school			Provide cultural or language learning			Make time for running errands or relaxing			Some other reason			Cost			Location			Quality			Lack of open slots for new children			Needed a program for children with special needs			Some other reason
1	2			3			4			5			6			7			8			9			10			11			12
Total children under 6         years old	59.7		(1.01)	31.4		(0.93)	3.2		(0.48)	2.0		(0.32)	3.7		(0.44)	31.5		(1.61)	9.3		(1.36)	22.1		(1.22)	27.3		(1.45)	2.4		(0.43)	7.4		(0.74)
Age
Under 1 year old	83.7		(2.35)	7.3		(1.55)	‡		(†)	2.4		(0.63)	5.8	!	(1.78)	30.8		(3.73)	5.8		(1.44)	19.6		(2.61)	36.0		(3.93)	‡		(†)	7.6		(1.78)
1 to 2 years old	71.6		(1.55)	18.5		(1.42)	3.4		(0.58)	3.4		(0.67)	3.3		(0.61)	33.1		(2.12)	6.3		(0.90)	24.3		(1.89)	25.4		(1.95)	2.2	!	(0.78)	8.7		(1.49)
3 to 5 years old	41.5		(1.59)	50.5		(1.48)	4.0		(1.00)	0.8		(0.24)	3.2		(0.56)	30.5		(2.63)	13.2		(2.53)	21.2		(1.58)	25.4		(2.08)	3.5		(0.73)	6.2		(0.88)
Race/ethnicity
White	63.4		(1.33)	29.6		(1.34)	1.9		(0.29)	2.5		(0.47)	2.5		(0.40)	27.6		(1.69)	7.2		(0.71)	26.6		(1.75)	29.6		(1.74)	1.6		(0.43)	7.4		(0.87)
Black	63.1		(3.06)	29.0		(2.58)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	4.0	!	(1.51)	37.1		(4.82)	9.2		(2.36)	20.8		(3.64)	22.7		(4.36)	3.8	!	(1.68)	6.3	!	(2.21)
Hispanic	51.2		(2.25)	37.5		(2.12)	5.3	!	(1.89)	1.3	!	(0.55)	4.6		(0.95)	34.4		(3.56)	14.8	!	(5.23)	12.8		(1.83)	26.5		(3.58)	2.5	!	(0.78)	8.9		(1.82)
Asian/Pacific Islander	48.1		(5.15)	31.1		(4.89)	9.7		(1.85)	2.0	!	(0.79)	9.0	!	(4.42)	32.2		(5.25)	9.4	!	(3.29)	28.6		(4.97)	20.1		(3.83)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)
Asian	48.1		(5.20)	30.7		(4.96)	9.9		(1.89)	2.1	!	(0.80)	9.2	!	(4.51)	32.2		(5.25)	9.4	!	(3.29)	28.6		(4.97)	20.1		(3.83)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)
Pacific Islander	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)
American Indian/Alaska Native	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)
Two or more races	62.3		(3.54)	29.4		(3.56)	3.2	!	(1.12)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	37.3		(4.91)	4.8	!	(2.26)	16.6		(3.57)	30.5		(4.29)	4.8	!	(1.84)	5.9	!	(2.07)
Number of parents in the
household2
Two parents	59.0		(1.30)	31.8		(1.16)	3.8		(0.64)	2.4		(0.39)	3.0		(0.43)	30.3		(1.75)	8.8		(1.45)	24.0		(1.28)	27.9		(1.55)	2.1		(0.44)	7.0		(0.76)
One parent	62.2		(2.40)	30.1		(2.30)	1.5	!	(0.48)	0.7	!	(0.29)	5.5		(1.12)	35.0		(3.39)	9.1		(1.84)	16.8		(2.95)	26.7		(3.67)	3.6	!	(1.33)	9.0		(2.01)
Mother in household
Yes	60.0		(1.04)	31.3		(0.96)	3.4		(0.50)	2.0		(0.32)	3.3		(0.45)	31.2		(1.70)	9.1		(1.43)	22.6		(1.26)	27.5		(1.53)	2.4		(0.46)	7.2		(0.72)
No	54.9		(3.71)	33.5		(3.50)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	8.2	!	(2.52)	36.9		(6.62)	13.4	!	(5.66)	14.1		(4.00)	22.4		(4.94)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)
Mother's employment status3
Currently employed	71.7		(1.05)	24.5		(1.01)	1.3		(0.25)	0.8		(0.20)	1.7		(0.35)	31.4		(1.90)	7.9		(0.88)	23.9		(1.25)	28.2		(1.71)	1.5		(0.34)	7.2		(0.86)
35 or more hours per week	76.0		(1.04)	21.1		(1.07)	1.2		(0.31)	0.6	!	(0.22)	1.1		(0.31)	28.9		(1.80)	8.5		(1.04)	25.1		(1.45)	28.6		(1.84)	1.5		(0.36)	7.3		(0.98)
Less than 35 hours per week	58.2		(2.42)	35.1		(2.59)	1.5	!	(0.46)	1.4	!	(0.47)	3.9		(1.02)	40.6		(4.72)	5.3		(1.28)	19.3		(2.84)	26.8		(4.29)	1.5	!	(0.70)	6.5		(1.38)
Looking for work	47.1		(5.83)	39.8		(6.33)	3.3	!	(1.56)	‡		(†)	7.2	!	(2.83)	37.6		(8.63)	‡		(†)	22.9	!	(10.16)	16.0	!	(5.47)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)
Not in labor force	28.4		(2.71)	49.5		(2.36)	9.0		(1.96)	5.5		(1.11)	7.6		(1.50)	31.1		(3.29)	14.4		(4.06)	16.7		(2.67)	26.0		(2.88)	5.0		(1.26)	6.7		(1.29)
Mother's highest education3
Less than high school	41.7		(5.48)	39.6		(5.15)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	7.8	!	(3.06)	33.6		(7.83)	29.2	!	(12.26)	12.5	!	(5.88)	19.8	!	(7.23)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)
High school/GED	54.2		(3.20)	36.9		(3.02)	2.9	!	(0.88)	1.5	!	(0.75)	4.5		(1.14)	39.0		(5.89)	12.3		(3.08)	15.9		(3.82)	25.0		(4.38)	4.1	!	(1.91)	3.7	!	(1.59)
Vocational/technical or      some college	60.5		(2.26)	31.1		(2.03)	3.2		(0.74)	1.7		(0.46)	3.6		(0.80)	35.2		(3.35)	7.5		(1.40)	21.2		(3.00)	23.8		(3.70)	2.7	!	(0.99)	9.6		(2.13)
Associate's degree	62.2		(2.74)	31.2		(2.48)	4.3	!	(1.35)	1.2	!	(0.60)	1.1	!	(0.46)	36.4		(4.67)	11.2		(2.62)	21.2		(4.32)	17.3		(3.05)	5.3	!	(1.83)	8.6	!	(2.97)
Bachelor's degree	62.3		(1.60)	30.3		(1.54)	2.3		(0.45)	2.4		(0.60)	2.7		(0.62)	32.2		(2.34)	5.6		(0.88)	24.9		(2.19)	28.9		(2.33)	1.8	!	(0.61)	6.6		(1.06)
Graduate/professional degree	70.9		(1.51)	22.6		(1.40)	2.1		(0.52)	2.5		(0.63)	1.8		(0.43)	19.2		(1.87)	7.3		(1.42)	27.2		(2.15)	36.1		(2.18)	1.2	!	(0.48)	9.1		(1.30)
Language spoken most at home    by mother3
English	63.3		(1.07)	29.8		(0.99)	1.7		(0.29)	2.2		(0.38)	3.1		(0.41)	30.7		(1.66)	8.2		(0.80)	23.6		(1.41)	28.0		(1.61)	2.5		(0.44)	7.1		(0.73)
Non-English	39.4		(4.04)	39.5		(3.93)	13.3		(3.93)	‡		(†)	6.4	!	(2.43)	34.5		(7.08)	19.9	!	(8.64)	15.9		(3.88)	21.3		(4.18)	‡		(†)	5.4	!	(1.96)
English and another language      equally	47.7		(4.55)	39.0		(4.93)	8.0		(2.07)	1.8	!	(0.76)	3.4	!	(1.49)	39.4		(5.68)	7.7	!	(3.12)	11.8	!	(3.57)	26.8		(5.40)	‡		(†)	12.4	!	(4.72)
Mother's age when first became    parent3
Less than 18	54.2		(5.64)	37.2		(5.28)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	19.7		(5.86)	17.9	!	(6.75)	18.9	!	(7.33)	21.6	!	(7.15)	‡		(†)	18.1	!	(6.51)
18 or 19	57.6		(4.37)	29.6		(4.01)	‡		(†)	‡		(†)	4.9	!	(2.22)	41.3		(6.87)	‡		(†)	19.0	!	(5.92)	14.6	!	(4.51)	3.7	!	(1.82)	6.1	!	(2.44)
20 or older	60.7		(1.06)	31.2		(1.00)	2.9		(0.37)	2.0		(0.29)	3.2		(0.40)	30.8		(1.73)	8.4		(0.80)	22.7		(1.01)	29.2		(1.56)	2.3		(0.46)	6.7		(0.65)
Household income
$20,000 or less	46.6		(2.88)	42.8		(2.88)	4.3		(1.10)	1.6	!	(0.76)	4.6	!	(1.44)	28.0		(4.68)	18.0		(3.96)	20.3		(4.88)	21.4		(4.34)	4.4	!	(1.78)	8.0	!	(2.43)
$20,001 to $50,000	52.8		(2.51)	35.1		(2.29)	2.9		(0.61)	2.1	!	(0.72)	7.1		(1.52)	39.8		(4.02)	7.6		(1.81)	17.3		(2.50)	24.5		(3.49)	4.4	!	(1.41)	6.4		(1.64)
$50,001 to $75,000	63.2		(2.94)	25.5		(2.31)	5.7	!	(2.76)	2.4		(0.63)	3.1		(0.71)	35.2		(4.23)	13.6	!	(5.69)	20.5		(2.80)	22.6		(3.37)	1.6	!	(0.72)	6.4		(1.75)
$75,001 to $100,000	65.2		(2.49)	28.7		(2.56)	2.7		(0.75)	2.0	!	(0.87)	1.4	!	(0.55)	35.3		(4.23)	6.2		(1.20)	23.4		(2.99)	25.2		(3.73)	‡		(†)	8.3		(1.89)
Over $100,000	66.5		(1.30)	27.8		(1.31)	2.0		(0.39)	1.9		(0.33)	1.8		(0.37)	23.6		(2.05)	6.1		(0.92)	26.6		(2.03)	34.8		(2.23)	1.0	!	(0.33)	8.0		(1.11)
Poverty status of household4
Poor	47.0		(2.49)	39.2		(2.35)	3.7		(0.84)	2.8	!	(0.87)	7.3		(1.76)	29.7		(4.27)	15.8		(3.31)	18.1		(4.06)	26.2		(4.08)	3.7	!	(1.44)	6.6		(1.93)
Near-poor	52.8		(3.04)	34.5		(2.71)	5.2	!	(2.04)	1.5	!	(0.64)	6.0		(1.33)	39.9		(4.61)	10.2	!	(4.41)	17.8		(2.87)	18.2		(2.73)	4.8	!	(1.58)	9.0		(2.16)
Nonpoor	65.8		(1.18)	28.1		(1.13)	2.4		(0.40)	1.9		(0.30)	1.8		(0.25)	29.2		(1.65)	7.3		(0.78)	24.6		(1.29)	30.6		(1.66)	1.3		(0.29)	7.0		(0.81)
Household size
2 or 3 persons	70.4		(1.33)	22.3		(1.23)	2.3		(0.43)	1.8	!	(0.57)	3.2		(0.67)	29.8		(2.08)	8.6		(1.45)	21.9		(1.86)	29.0		(2.34)	3.2		(0.91)	7.6		(1.22)
4 persons	59.5		(1.65)	32.8		(1.49)	3.6		(0.64)	1.8		(0.39)	2.3		(0.54)	29.4		(2.44)	8.4		(1.17)	24.9		(2.14)	29.0		(2.27)	1.8	!	(0.61)	6.6		(0.98)
5 persons	54.5		(2.41)	38.0		(2.41)	2.1	!	(0.68)	1.2	!	(0.47)	4.2		(0.94)	35.4		(4.56)	8.6		(1.72)	22.4		(2.82)	23.2		(3.19)	2.5	!	(0.83)	8.0		(1.94)
6 or more persons	49.0		(3.40)	35.0		(2.91)	5.5	!	(2.59)	3.8	!	(1.14)	6.7		(1.77)	35.7		(5.52)	‡		(†)	15.6		(3.97)	24.3		(4.86)	2.5	!	(1.09)	8.3		(2.32)
Locale
City	62.0		(1.69)	28.5		(1.56)	3.1		(0.48)	2.5		(0.57)	3.9		(0.89)	31.6		(2.47)	5.7		(1.10)	21.6		(2.30)	30.6		(2.44)	3.0		(0.85)	7.5		(1.27)
Suburban	57.6		(1.54)	33.5		(1.64)	4.1		(1.06)	1.7		(0.41)	3.1		(0.50)	34.5		(2.89)	9.5		(2.48)	23.5		(1.94)	23.7		(2.11)	2.4		(0.67)	6.4		(0.97)
Town	57.7		(3.68)	34.2		(3.63)	‡		(†)	1.7	!	(0.64)	3.3	!	(1.55)	25.8		(5.01)	9.5		(2.82)	27.0		(4.93)	28.0		(4.75)	‡		(†)	7.9	!	(3.09)
Rural	61.2		(2.60)	30.7		(2.66)	1.2	!	(0.46)	2.0	!	(0.75)	4.9		(1.16)	25.6		(3.05)	18.1		(2.82)	16.4		(2.43)	28.7		(3.14)	‡		(†)	9.9		(2.24)

†Not applicable.

!Interpret data with caution. The coefficient of variation (CV) for this estimate is between 30 and 50 percent.

‡Reporting standards not met. Either there are too few cases for a reliable estimate or the coefficient of variation (CV) is 50 percent or greater.

1 Excludes children whose parent/guardian reported either "have not tried to find care" or "no difficulty" finding the type of child care or early childhood program wanted.

2 Excludes children living apart from their parents.

3 Excludes children living in households with no mother or female guardian present.

4 Poor children are those whose family incomes were below the Census Bureau's poverty threshold in the year prior to data collection; near-poor children are those whose family incomes ranged from the poverty threshold to 199 percent of the poverty threshold; and nonpoor children are those whose family incomes were at or above 200 percent of the poverty threshold. The poverty threshold is a dollar amount that varies depending on a family's size and composition and is updated annually to account for inflation. In 2015, for example, the poverty threshold for a family of four with two children was $24,257. Survey respondents are asked to select the range within which their income falls, rather than giving the exact amount of their income; therefore, the measure of poverty status is an approximation.

NOTE: For the 2016 administration of the National Household Education Surveys Program (NHES), initial contact with all respondents was by mail, and the majority of respondents received paper-and-pencil questionnaires. However, as an experiment with web use, a small sample of NHES:2016 respondents received mailed invitations to complete the survey online. Race categories exclude persons of Hispanic ethnicity. Detail may not sum to totals because of rounding.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, Early Childhood Program Participation Survey of the National Household Education Surveys Program (ECPP-NHES:2016). (This table was prepared November 2017.)