A new report compiled by the Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth shows that child care costs continue to rise, with the statewide average annual cost of center-based care for infants in the Volunteer State being more costly than the 2025 in-state tuition rate at all of Tennessee’s four-year public universities.
The Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth’s 2025 State of the Child report “provides an annual overview of the well-being of children, youth, and families in Tennessee through available data” across nine topics: Demographics; Economics; Child Care and Early Education; Education; Health; Mental Health; Adversity and Resilience; Child Welfare; and Youth Justice.
One of the most notable findings the report highlights is how childcare costs “continue to be out of reach for many families.”
In fiscal year 2025, according to the report, the median market rate for infant center-based child care was $13,926 annually, which is more expensive than the 2025 in-state tuition rate of $13,812 at the University of Tennessee – Knoxville.
Further, the statewide average annual cost for toddler center-based child care in fiscal year 2025 was $12,800.
“For many families, childcare is the largest household expense, totaling more than their rent or mortgage,” the report says.
Another notable finding included in the report shows Tennessee to have a child and teen death rate of 32.2 per 100,000, the state’s highest since 2000.
“In 2023, 1 in 5 deaths among those ages 1-17 in Tennessee were due to a firearm,1 in 8 were due to Motor Vehicle Traffic, 1 in 15 were due to cancer, and 1 in 16 were due to poisoning,” the report says.
With regard to Demographics, the 2025 State of the Child report notes how “Tennessee’s children have become more diverse” over the last decade, with most recent data showing 15 percent of all Tennessee children are part of an immigrant family.
The report notes that nearly 1 in 8 Tennessee children aged 5-17 spoke a language other than English at home, 74 percent of which spoke Spanish.
In a press release marking the unveiling of the 2025 report, Tennessee Commission on Children and Youth Executive Director Richard Kennedy said the agency is “committed to investing in the work that will make Tennessee the best place for every child and family.”
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Kaitlin Housler is a reporter at The Tennessee Star and The Star News Network. Follow Kaitlin on X / Twitter.
