| Skills: Data Visualization | Power BI | Socioeconomic Data Analysis | Policy Analytics | Exploratory Data Analysis |
Childcare affordability is a major economic challenge for single mothers in the United States. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) defines affordable childcare as costing no more than 7% of household income. This project analyzes childcare costs relative to income to examine how affordable childcare truly is for single-mother households.
The goal of the analysis was to identify counties where childcare costs place the greatest financial burden on single mothers and to evaluate whether affordability has improved over time.
The analysis used national childcare cost and income datasets containing information on:
The data covered U.S. counties and multiple years of childcare cost estimates.
The project combined exploratory data analysis with interactive dashboard development.
Key steps included:
Across the United States, childcare costs for single mothers consistently exceeded the 7% affordability benchmark.
In the most burdened counties, infant childcare costs exceeded 70% of the median income for women, making full-time work economically difficult for many single mothers.
Trend analysis showed that childcare affordability has remained consistently high or worsened in many counties over recent years.
Counties with the highest number of single-mother households also tended to have the highest childcare burdens, highlighting areas where policy interventions could have the greatest impact.
The findings suggest several potential policy responses:
Power BI, Python, Data Visualization, Policy Analysis