The Maternal Labor Market Effects of State Pre-K Funding

July 2026

Public pre-kindergarten (pre-K) is primarily designed as an educational policy for young children but has attracted attention as a potential lever to support maternal employment. This study provides national evidence on the maternal labor market effects of state pre-K funding, exploiting variation in public investment across states and over time (academic years 2002-2024). Using a triple-difference design that compares mothers of pre-K-age children to mothers of slightly older children across states and years, we find consistent evidence across two independent national surveys: a $1,000 increase in per-child pre-K funding is associated with a robust 0.3–0.6 percentage-point increase in maternal employment, with some evidence of an increase in weekly work hours and in annual earnings. Subgroup-specific estimates are largely consistent in magnitude but reveal larger employment responses among mothers with young children and among socioeconomically advantaged mothers (partnered, college-educated, higher-income). Together, the findings suggest that public investments in early education can yield modest but robust labor market benefits for mothers.

Keywords

Public preschool, Maternal employment, Early child care and education policy

Education level

K-12 Education

Topics

Families and Communities