{"id":367555,"date":"2026-10-08T04:20:09","date_gmt":"2026-10-08T04:20:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/367555\/"},"modified":"2026-10-08T04:20:09","modified_gmt":"2026-10-08T04:20:09","slug":"nyc-parents-childcare-desires-vary-by-race-income-location-survey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/367555\/","title":{"rendered":"NYC parents’ childcare desires vary by race, income, location: survey"},"content":{"rendered":"

As Mayor Mamdani launches universal childcare for 2-year-olds<\/a>, with the ultimate goal of free care for all young children, what do New York City parents want for their toddlers and even infants?<\/p>\n

The answer may not always be a formal daycare program, and seems to vary by geography, race and income, according to a new survey released Thursday, funded by Robin Hood, an anti-poverty organization in the city, with the help of the progressive think tank New America.<\/p>\n

The percentage of families who want formal childcare at age 2 ranges from less than one-third of parents in East New York (School District 19) to just short of two-thirds of parents in Park Slope (School District 15), analysts found. Still, the vast majority of parents said they would at least be open to daycare if it were free.<\/p>\n

The results suggest that as 2-K expands citywide over the next few years<\/a>, demand for seats could be \u201cuneven\u201d across local school districts.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe know that if we\u2019re going to build a childcare system that actually works for families, we need to understand what families actually need and want from that system,\u201d Richard Buery, the chief executive officer of Robin Hood, told reporters during a Wednesday briefing.<\/p>\n

If the potential challenge sounds familiar, it\u2019s because similar imbalances have plagued the city\u2019s universal preschool programs<\/a> for years. While parents in some of the city\u2019s poshest nabes clamored for the first pre-K and 3-K seats, leading to long waitlists the Mamdani administration has started to address<\/a>, seats in some parts of the outer boroughs remained empty, even if working parents stood to benefit.<\/p>\n

Overall, 39% of parents said they have less childcare than they require, with higher rates of unmet need among women: 46% of moms, compared to 30% of dads.<\/p>\n

Mamdani first announced the universal childcare parent survey in March<\/a>, and top administration officials have said the data will continue to inform future expansions.<\/p>\n

\"NewMayor Mamdani visits Mama Tingo’s Childcare Center in Washington Heights and holds a press conference with Gov. Kathy Hochul and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels to launch 2-K on the first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (Michael Appleton \/ Mayoral Photography Office)<\/p>\n

\u201cThese findings affirm both the scale of the work ahead and the direction we are taking: expanding 2-K and 3-K, helping families get the care they need, and building a system that works for every family, not just those who can afford it,\u201d Mamdani said in a statement.<\/p>\n

2-K launched last month with slightly more than 2,000 children, with nearly three applications for every seat<\/a> and families continuing to add themselves to waitlists. With more funding from Gov. Hochul, the program is expected to scale up to 12,000 2-year-olds in less than one year from now.<\/p>\n

The roughly 50-question survey ran between March 31 and April 20 and was filled out by 4,306 parents of children ages 5 and under in all school districts across the city. The poll was sent by a postcard mail campaign and online in English and Spanish.<\/p>\n

In 13 of the city\u2019s school districts, the majority of parents of 2-year-olds would prefer formal childcare in a school, center or residential setting with a small group of children.<\/p>\n

\u201cYou can see it\u2019s primarily in neighborhoods closer to the center of the city, several higher-income neighborhoods that favor formal childcare settings at age 2, with lower demand in the Bronx and parts of Queens,\u201d said Tara Dawson McGuinness, the founder and executive director of the New Practice Lab at New America.<\/p>\n

The calculus may change as a child gets older: Close to seven in 10 parents of 3-year-olds prefer some version of formal childcare. For kids under 1-year-old, most families want longer parental leave to care for their own babies.<\/p>\n

\"NewA young student arrives as Mayor Mamdani visits Mama Tingo’s Childcare Center in Washington Heights and holds a press conference with Gov. Kathy Hochul and Schools Chancellor Kamar Samuels to launch 2-K on the first day of school on Thursday, Sept. 10, 2026. (Michael Appleton \/ Mayoral Photography Office)<\/p>\n

\u201cPreferences, even in the same family, shift depending on the age of their child,\u201d McGuinness said.<\/p>\n

The survey also asked parents of young children from newborns to age 5 about informal care, such as having a family member look after a young child.<\/p>\n

According to the results, 40% of Hispanic parents rely on care provided by another relative. \u201cRelative care\u201d is also common in the Bronx (40%) and Staten Island (44%). The use of childcare centers is more popular among white parents (32%) and Brooklyn families (30%).<\/p>\n

Low-income families are more likely to rely on care by a family member. Meanwhile, \u201chigher income\u201d parents, defined as earning more than 85% of the state\u2019s median income or an annual salary of $116,500 for a family of four<\/a>, are more likely to use childcare centers.<\/p>\n

New York City parents who pay for childcare spend an average of nearly $20,000 per child each year, or up to $29,000 for children under 1 year old.<\/p>\n

Researchers could not explain the results, and whether some of the trends were driven more by individual preferences or economic realities and work schedules.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t know know the \u2018why,’\u201d said Alyson Silkowski, senior policy adviser at the New Practice Lab. \u201cThere can be mistrust. It could be lack of awareness \u2026 Pockets of the city where there seems to be less interest are also some of the areas of the city that have historically just had fewer licensed centers.\u201d<\/p>\n

According to the survey, 40% of parents are using care during \u201cnon-traditional hours,\u201d such as weekday evenings or the weekend, when many formal daycares are closed.<\/p>\n

McGuinness, also of the New Practice Lab, said policymakers must demonstrate to working parents that childcare is \u201cfor you\u201d \u2014 offered in their languages and neighborhoods, and during flexible hours, including night shifts.<\/p>\n

\u201cSometimes we have to build it,\u201d McGuinness said, \u201cin order for people to be able to imagine it.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"As Mayor Mamdani launches universal childcare for 2-year-olds, with the ultimate goal of free care for all young…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":367556,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[8],"tags":[10883,135927,135925,49023,16170,1445,135926,9,56,63,75063,65,64,46114,14509,90443,79359],"class_list":["post-367555","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-new-york-city","tag-2-k","tag-childcare-expansion","tag-childcare-survey","tag-geography","tag-income","tag-mamdani","tag-new-america","tag-new-york","tag-ny","tag-nyc","tag-nyc-childcare","tag-nyc-headlines","tag-nyc-news","tag-pre-k","tag-race","tag-robin-hood","tag-think-tank"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=367555"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/367555\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/367556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=367555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=367555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ny\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=367555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}