Daycare Break-Even Calculator

Find how many children you need to cover costs — and how many to reach your target income. Works for home daycares and childcare centers. This is a simplified pre-tax planning illustration; it does not determine legally permitted capacity or staffing ratios.

Monthly inputs

Monthly tuition per child Your standard full-time monthly rate

Expected collection rate (%) Percentage of billed tuition you expect to collect (use 95–100% if collections are reliable)

Variable cost per child per month Costs that increase with each additional child — food, supplies, activity materials. Not payroll.

Fixed monthly operating costs Costs that don't change with enrollment: rent, utilities, insurance, software, payroll for fixed staff. Staffing can be fixed within a band — adding children may require step-increases in staff costs.

Target owner compensation per month (optional) What you want to pay yourself. Leave 0 to see operating break-even only.

Available seats (your licensed capacity) Maximum children you are licensed to serve. The calculator will warn if required enrollment exceeds this.

Results

Enter your numbers above — results appear here.

How the calculation works

Effective tuition = tuition × collection % ÷ 100
Contribution per child = effective tuition − variable cost per child
Operating break-even = fixed costs ÷ contribution per child (rounded up to whole children)
Including owner target = (fixed costs + owner target) ÷ contribution per child (rounded up)
Target occupancy = children needed ÷ available seats × 100

If contribution per child is zero or negative, no finite break-even exists under those assumptions. Staffing cost is treated as fixed in this model — adding children beyond your current staffing band may require additional staff, which increases fixed costs and changes the break-even.

Example: $1,500 tuition, 100% collection, $200 variable cost, $6,500 fixed costs, $2,600 owner target, 10 seats → $1,300 contribution, 5 operating break-even, 7 including owner target, 70% target occupancy.

This is a simplified pre-tax planning illustration. It does not account for income taxes, self-employment tax, benefits, or seasonal enrollment variation. It does not determine legally permitted capacity or required staffing ratios, which are set by California licensing rules. Use this tool to understand the relationship between your inputs — confirm all figures with your actual records and consult appropriate advisors before making business decisions.

Already operating? Get an outside look at your numbers.

Pilot billing and profit review for established childcare centers — $299 for one month, subject to scope check.

Learn about the pilot review →