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Daycare shortages › Washington

Daycare shortage in Washington

Updated 2026-07-18 · under-5 population (Census ACS 5-year) vs. licensed childcare capacity (official Washington licensing data) · methodology

Among Washington ZIP codes with an established base of licensed providers, 62 have three or more children under five for every licensed childcare slot — the tightest supply in the state. Areas are ranked most-undersupplied first.

Most undersupplied ZIP codes

ZIPChildren under 5Licensed slotsChildren per slotFacilities
982842,061 2368.75
982902,261 2947.75
980922,982 4047.48
982773,106 4906.311
982481,862 31066
984042,988 5195.810
986071,669 2885.85
984221,380 2455.66
986711,090 2055.37
985132,030 3975.16
983211,002 19955
980302,548 5244.910
986823,683 7804.712
984092,360 5074.710
988021,812 3914.66
988373,521 8054.413
985201,365 3134.48
982703,489 8184.311
980872,302 5354.36
986741,309 3034.35
982583,778 9174.111
980552,103 5154.15
98221895 2184.16
983122,116 528410
981781,458 36346
993531,520 38346
980233,347 828414
982232,398 59548
993017,205 1,8473.928
981982,536 6533.914
983732,024 5243.96
985842,177 5573.99
985971,437 3643.95
984442,549 6693.812
983873,116 8213.815
986842,232 5973.78
980221,263 3553.68
980562,245 6453.58
982921,482 4473.37
983111,566 4713.38
986042,296 6933.311
984981,830 5613.38
980422,983 9383.210
993363,631 1,1483.219
983662,040 6323.212
986613,123 9683.213
986851,564 4873.26
980011,928 6053.29
992121,236 3853.27
981161,649 5403.110
Only ZIP codes with at least five licensed facilities that report capacity are ranked, so this reflects genuine supply pressure — not areas where our roster is simply thin. Some tight-supply ZIPs may be excluded for that reason; the full picture is in the API.

For operators, lenders & investors

This is a preview of DaycareLens's site-selection data — ZIP-level supply and demand across every state we cover, via API. Get API access for the full ranked dataset, capacity detail, and custom radius screens.

Reuse these figures with attribution. Underlying data is free to download (CC0).