Florida falls behind in 2025 early education ranking. Here’s why it isn't among best states

Just over a week ago, personal finance company WalletHub ranked Florida among the top 15 most-expensive states when it comes to child care costs in 2025.

Today, WalletHub released its list of the best and worst states for early childhood education, and Florida ranked among the 15 worst, scoring poorly in all of the categories associated with cost. Florida dropped in rankings from the 2024 version of this WalletHub list, dropping four ranking places.

Here’s where Florida ranked on WalletHub’s list compared to the same list from 2024 and why.

How much does child care cost? This list ranks Florida among most expensive states

Which U.S. state is best for children's education?

To find the states with the best early childhood education systems, WalletHub compared each state across 12 metrics that fell into three categories: access, quality and resources, and economic support.

Last year’s WalletHub list ranked Arkansas as the best U.S. state for early childhood education. This year’s list ranks Arkansas in third place, Washington D.C. in second and Maryland in first place.

“Maryland had the 15th-highest increase in enrollment between the 2001-2002 and 2023-2024 school years, at 5%. It also has the 14th-highest enrollment overall for three-year-olds,” the study says.

“Another area where Maryland stands out is safety. In addition to having a statewide school safety plan, it also requires regular audits to make sure everything is in line.”

Here’s WalletHub’s top 10 states for early education in 2025:

1. Maryland

2. District of Columbia

3. Arkansas

4. New Jersey

5. New Mexico

6. Oregon

7. West Virginia

8. South Carolina

9. Vermont

10. Michigan

Here’s WalletHub’s top 10 states for early education in 2024:

1. Arkansas

2. District of Columbia

3. Nebraska

4. Maryland

5. Oregon

6. West Virginia

7. South Carolina

8. New Jersey

9. Vermont

10. Connecticut

WalletHub's 2024 list: What U.S. state has the best early childhood education? Where Florida ranked

Where does Florida rank in early education?

Florida ranked 37th on WalletHub’s list in 2024 and 40th on the same list in 2023, but this year, the Sunshine State ranked in 41st place, meaning it placed as the 11th-worst state for early education.

Here’s how Florida performed in some of the key categories WalletHub used to find its rankings:

• 21st – Share of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in pre-K, pre-K special education and Head Start

• 29th – Income requirement for state Pre-K eligibility

• 46th – Total reported spending per child enrolled in preschool

• 15th – Total state Head Start program spending per child enrolled in preschool

• 43rd – Monthly child care co-payment fees as a percent of family income

Here’s how Florida ranked in some of the key categories from the 2024 study:

• 17th – Share of 3- and 4-year-olds enrolled in pre-K, pre-K special education and Head Start

• 29th – Income requirement for state pre-K eligibility

• 45th – Total reported spending per child enrolled in preschool

• 14th – Total state Head Start program spending per child enrolled in preschool

• 43rd – Monthly child care co-payment fees as a percent of family income

How much does child care cost in Florida?

The cost of child care depends on the age of your children and whether you choose in-home or center-based care.

According to Winnie, an online marketplace for child care, the average monthly cost of child care in Florida ranges from around $700 to $1,000 a month, depending on whether you choose in-home or center-based child care.

“The average cost of in-home childcare per month in Florida is $700. Parents of infants pay even more, with an average monthly cost of $740 per month (that's close to $9,000 a year) while parents of four-year-olds pay an average of $650 per month,” Winnie says.

“The cost for center-based childcare increases to an average of $1,000 per month for infant care and close to $800 per month for preschoolers.”

Can you get free child care in Florida? Does Florida offer free daycare?

Although the cost of high-quality early education is out of reach for many Florida families, there are some subsidized help options available for low-income households.

You can get child care at a discount, depending on your needs, from a variety of options available to help qualifying families defer the cost of tuition, from county-issued subsidies to free pre-K programs.

One of the options available for Florida families is the Florida Department of Education's School Readiness Program, which offers assistance to low-income families for child care.

You can find eligibility requirements and apply for the program by visiting your county’s early learning coalition website.

Florida also has a free, voluntary pre-K program and was one of the first states to offer it. To qualify, children must be 4 years old on or before Sept. 1 of the upcoming school year.

Applications to Florida’s voluntary prekindergarten (VPK) Education Program are accessible on the state’s Division of Early Learning website.

There are also federally-funded programs that qualifying low-income families can use to sign up for free child care: Head Start and Early Head Start. Depending on where you live and how many programs are available, there may be a waitlist.

This article originally appeared on Florida Today: Florida expensive for early child education; ranks with lowest