As Texas families face the rising cost of child care, the issue could play a larger role in the political conversation ahead of the November midterm elections.
A recent Texas poll found that 79% of voters support tax incentives for employers that help provide child care through on-site facilities, subsidies or flexible scheduling. According to KPRC 2 political analyst Natalie Arceneaux the broad support reflects a challenge that extends beyond the household budget and into the state’s workforce and economic future.
“I think it’s always been an economic issue around, again, affordability,” Arsenault said.
She pointed to the financial burden of infant care, noting that families can spend approximately $11,000 a year on child care, based on a 2024 assessment. For many parents, that expense can force difficult decisions about whether to remain in the workforce or stay home to care for their children.
The cost of care, she said, becomes a significant factor in determining whether working makes financial sense for a family.
The affordability of child care is closely tied to the ability of parents to pursue employment, but Arsenault said a strong economy must offer more than job opportunities.
Texas also needs jobs that pay enough for people to cover living expenses while raising a family, she said.
“If we can’t create jobs in an economy that supports having a family when people want to have a family, then, yeah, I think that’s a knock against Texas,” Arceneaux said.
Her comments highlight a broader question facing policymakers: whether the state’s economic growth is translating into financial stability for working families.
When the cost of child care consumes a significant portion of a household’s income, parents may have to weigh the cost of working against the expense of care. Those decisions can affect not only individual families but also the availability of workers for Texas employers.
While employers and policymakers often focus on traditional child care centers, Arsenault said solutions could also include tapping into resources already available within families and communities.
She noted that multigenerational households are increasingly part of the conversation, with grandparents and other relatives sometimes moving closer to family members to help care for children.
Rather than focusing exclusively on placing children in outside facilities, Arsenault suggested exploring ways to incentivize and support alternative arrangements.
“I think we need to get a bit more creative,” she said.
She raised the possibility of leveraging community resources and existing family support networks as part of a broader approach to addressing child care needs.
The discussion comes as employers and policymakers face questions about how to make child care more accessible while helping parents remain in the workforce.
Arceneaux said child care could become a more prominent issue for voters, even though it directly affects only certain segments of the population at any given time.
The issue reaches beyond parents who currently have young children, she said. It also matters to people who hope to start families in the future.
Arceneaux connected the cost of raising children to concerns about declining birth rates, noting that financial pressures can influence whether people feel ready to have children.
“If you can’t afford to take care of yourself, then you’re probably thinking, ‘I can’t afford to bring a life into this world either,’” she said.
That dynamic could broaden the political appeal of child care affordability, making it relevant to younger voters and prospective parents as well as families already struggling to cover care expenses.
With 79% of voters in the cited Texas poll supporting tax incentives for employers that help with child care, the issue may offer an opportunity for policymakers in both parties to address a shared concern among working families.
As the November midterms approach, the debate over child care could become part of a larger discussion about wages, workforce participation, economic opportunity and the cost of starting a family in Texas.
Arceneaux’s central point is that child care is not simply a private family expense. It is also a workforce issue — and one with economic and political implications for the state.
