Key Takeaways
- New Mexico is set to become the first U.S. state to offer free child care to all families, regardless of income.
- The state has removed its previous income cap, which limited eligibility to families earning up to 400% of the federal poverty line.
- Most Americans say child care costs are a major reason they delay having children and support more government help with child care.
If you’re a parent or planning to become one, moving to New Mexico might save you money. The state is set to become the first in the U.S. to offer free child care for all families, helping parents avoid thousands of dollars in costs.
Gov. Michelle Lujan Grisham announced plans earlier this week to expand a program launched in 2019 to cover or reimburse parents for child care costs using funds from oil and gas production. Starting in November, the state will remove the income cap that limited no-cost child care to families at or below 400% of the federal poverty line. Per current Health and Human Services data, 400% of the poverty line for a family of four is $128,600.
The state’s Early Childhood Education and Care Department, created in 2019, said the expansion would eliminate income requirements, waive copays, and expand eligibility for families with special circumstances, like children raised by grandparents or other family members.
Lujan Grisham’s office said the plan will also include a $12.7 million loan fund to renovate or build new child care facilities, and a request for $20 million more in the fiscal year 2027 budget, among other steps to improve and expand access to child care.
“Child care is essential to family stability, workforce participation, and New Mexico’s future prosperity,” Lujan Grisham said. “By investing in universal child care, we are giving families financial relief, supporting our economy, and ensuring that every child has the opportunity to grow and thrive.”
How Much Could Parents in New Mexico Save?
In the release announcing the planned changes, Lujan Grisham’s office estimated that this move to cover child care costs saves families an average of $12,000 per child annually.
Infant care costs about $14,200 annually in New Mexico, while the average cost to care for a 4-year-old child is just under $10,000, according to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI). That’s about 21% and 15%, respectively, of the median income for a family in New Mexico, the EPI estimates. The costs are even higher for a family with two children (for example, an infant and a four-year-old), amounting to 36% of the median family’s income.
What Do Americans Think of Universal Child Care?
Most Americans see rising child care costs as a serious issue. In a June survey by the Associated Press-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research, 76% of Americans called it a “major problem.”
But few supported government efforts to encourage people to have more children. Instead, many said the government should focus on making it easier for parents to take time off by requiring employers to offer paid parental leave.
Fast Fact
More than half of Americans in a 2024 Pew Research Center survey said they thought that the government providing free child care and requiring employers to provide paid parental leave would each be an “extremely or very effective” way to make it easier for American families to have more children.
Ahead of the 2024 presidential election, the First Five Years Fund, a group that works with lawmakers to promote policies that improve child care, found that about two-thirds of voters said access to high-quality, affordable child care is “essential/very important” to improving the economy.