Data & Ongoing Monitoring

Head Start Program Facts: Fiscal Year 2023

The Head Start program promotes school readiness for children from birth to age 5 in low-income families through services that support early learning and development, health, and family well-being. Head Start staff actively engage parents, recognizing family participation throughout the program as key to strong child outcomes. Since its inception in 1965, the Head Start program has served more than 40 million children and their families. In fiscal year (FY) 2023, the Head Start program was funded to serve 778,420 children, pregnant women, and pregnant people in centers, family homes, and family child care homes. The program is rooted in urban, suburban, and rural communities throughout the nation.

For term definitions and fact sheets from other years, see Head Start Program Annual Fact Sheets.

Download the PDF version.

Administration and Federal Budget

The Head Start program is administered by the federal Office of Head Start (OHS), within the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

The U.S. Congress authorizes the amount of federal spending for the Head Start program each year. OHS awards nearly all funds directly to public agencies, private nonprofit and for-profit organizations, tribal governments, and school systems for operating Head Start programs in local communities.

ActivityAmount
Head Start Program, Including Early Head Start-Child Care Partnership

$11,589,715,163

Training and Technical Assistance (TTA)

$250,694,126

Research, Demonstration, and Evaluation

$20,430,389

Monitoring Support

$42,000,000

Program Support

$68,176,092

Designation Renewal System (DRS) Transitions Support

$25,000,000

Total

$11,996,015,770

Annual Federal Funding and Funded Enrollment by State

The Head Start program serves children, families, and pregnant women and pregnant people in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and six territories. It encompasses Head Start preschool programs, which primarily serve 3- and 4-year-old children; Early Head Start (EHS) programs for infants, toddlers, and expectant families; American Indian and Alaska Native (AIAN) Head Start programs operated by tribal governments, tribal colleges, or tribal agencies; and Migrant and Seasonal Head Start (MSHS) programs designed to provide program services to farmworker families.

The tables in this section present the total annual federal funding and funded enrollment of Head Start programs in each state and territory, listed by program type. Federal funding amounts include neither TTA funding awarded directly to grant recipients nor state or other funding sources provided to local Head Start programs. Funded enrollment refers to the capacity or number of children and pregnant women and pregnant people supported by federal Head Start funds. It includes slots funded by state or other funds when used by grant recipients as required nonfederal match.

Federal Funded Enrollment and Amounts by State, Excluding AIAN and MSHS Programs

StateHead Start Preschool Funded EnrollmentEHS Funded EnrollmentHead Start Preschool Annual Operations Funded AmountEHS Annual Operations Funded Amount
Alabama

9,197

3,243

$111,391,105

$62,634,542

Alaska

961

336

$16,538,443

$6,169,453

Arizona

9,109

3,098

$131,652,067

$60,473,542

Arkansas

5,465

3,513

$54,709,528

$63,784,919

California

50,574

24,884

$916,864,291

$541,092,149

Colorado

6,583

2,198

$84,786,951

$40,341,169

Connecticut

4,381

1,585

$59,028,143

$35,172,203

Delaware

1,245

471

$15,830,013

$8,083,074

District of Columbia

448

1,822

$6,502,403

$32,878,764

Florida

28,546

9,698

$307,870,115

$184,932,152

Georgia

17,255

4,838

$195,222,403

$94,281,695

Hawaii

2,181

721

$24,500,949

$11,154,870

Idaho

1,982

645

$31,115,249

$12,403,012

Illinois

17,736

11,043

$248,022,840

$207,071,808

Indiana

9,931

2,442

$130,090,516

$43,177,626

Iowa

5,157

1,770

$59,823,657

$29,945,134

Kansas

4,606

1,831

$64,571,560

$22,507,185

Kentucky

10,849

3,184

$137,849,281

$63,000,122

Louisiana

15,144

3,754

$163,172,343

$70,777,315

Maine

2,080

797

$31,692,779

$16,363,415

Maryland

6,738

2,254

$86,567,495

$49,009,268

Massachusetts

8,522

2,346

$132,007,052

$47,344,982

Michigan

20,739

6,853

$277,972,254

$129,499,746

Minnesota

7,357

2,138

$101,149,937

$38,477,180

Mississippi

16,169

3,770

$181,453,404

$69,773,816

Missouri

9,632

3,966

$138,458,969

$70,071,562

Montana

2,286

601

$29,007,155

$12,363,251

Nebraska

3,019

1,731

$37,428,495

$31,064,638

Nevada

585

912

$9,075,095

$19,573,614

New Hampshire

1,135

363

$17,268,434

$6,009,732

New Jersey

9,032

3,716

$122,601,805

$67,723,141

New Mexico

4,439

2,004

$49,965,629

$36,683,252

New York

38,360

12,504

$552,210,035

$224,602,165

North Carolina

13,757

4,920

$161,785,836

$104,758,014

North Dakota

1,381

356

$19,620,418

$8,090,422

Ohio

25,931

6,373

$316,685,692

$109,670,206

Oklahoma

9,088

3,507

$85,992,296

$67,543,261

Oregon

3,785

1,828

$79,358,682

$38,308,595

Pennsylvania

20,729

6,765

$278,574,522

$107,685,977

Rhode Island

1,610

675

$26,722,734

$11,258,089

South Carolina

8,916

2,466

$101,494,324

$46,114,555

South Dakota

1,937

529

$22,846,675

$8,962,494

Tennessee

12,858

2,159

$152,638,575

$43,634,815

Texas

51,195

14,189

$538,423,499

$262,691,687

Utah

3,853

1,357

$65,523,542

$26,114,236

Vermont

845

538

$15,277,941

$11,612,246

Virginia

10,712

3,002

$119,480,010

$54,443,923

Washington

6,960

3,310

$118,236,904

$71,133,277

West Virginia

6,642

1,082

$66,755,014

$17,262,429

Wisconsin

9,164

2,804

$119,509,965

$48,674,056

Wyoming

956

352

$16,467,116

$6,964,577

American Samoa

1,332

0

$5,250,063

$7,615

Federated States of Micronesia

0

0

$0

$0

Guam

534

0

$4,215,811

$6,115

Republic of the Marshall Islands

0

0

$0

$0

Northern Mariana Islands

396

64

$2,903,746

$1,178,136

Palau

350

0

$2,183,899

$3,168

Puerto Rico

19,381

5,158

$220,910,561

$99,424,548

Virgin Islands

794

120

$10,053,224

$2,134,946

Subtotal

544,549

186,585

$7,077,311,444

$3,556,117,883

AIAN funding is awarded to AIAN tribal governments. AIAN programs operate in 26 states, and in some cases, their services cross state lines.

AIAN Federal Funded Enrollment and Amounts by State

StateHead Start Preschool Funded EnrollmentEHS Funded EnrollmentHead Start Preschool Annual Operations Funded AmountEHS Annual Operations Funded Amount
Alaska

1,479

429

$29,300,948

$10,029,246

Arizona

2,865

301

$41,823,455

$6,962,406

California

597

196

$10,497,304

$4,597,024

Colorado

56

0

$854,802

$0

Idaho

204

115

$3,235,512

$2,117,309

Kansas

62

47

$1,277,955

$1,091,082

Maine

60

0

$1,136,730

$0

Michigan

330

232

$5,027,913

$3,908,088

Minnesota

855

492

$12,309,603

$10,403,829

Mississippi

192

76

$1,947,883

$808,355

Montana

918

251

$10,711,802

$3,916,956

Nebraska

219

130

$3,086,611

$3,234,907

Nevada

362

0

$4,955,380

$0

New Mexico

1,180

252

$15,360,876

$4,083,690

New York

143

0

$1,745,494

$0

North Carolina

144

86

$1,803,397

$1,560,581

North Dakota

743

153

$9,404,475

$3,070,567

Oklahoma

2,131

390

$23,331,928

$7,930,473

Oregon

318

66

$3,895,253

$1,391,272

South Carolina

80

32

$1,171,757

$855,594

South Dakota

1,577

229

$21,650,372

$4,797,625

Texas

134

0

$1,495,063

$0

Utah

215

0

$2,294,357

$0

Washington

1,062

504

$16,432,343

$12,131,886

Wisconsin

694

368

$8,577,501

$7,032,591

Wyoming

165

96

$1,901,331

$1,537,898

Subtotal

16,785

4,445

$235,230,045

$91,461,379

MSHS funding and funded enrollment are shown as one total in the table below, as this program supports children and families who receive services in various states during the year. Thus, federal funding and funded enrollment for these services cannot be attributed to individual states. The totals do not include expansion funding opportunities that were posted but not awarded before end of FY 2023 for the listed program types.

Program TypeAnnual Funded EnrollmentAnnual Federal Operations Funding
Head Start Programs, Excluding AIAN and MSHS Programs

731,134

$10,633,429,327

AIAN Head Start Programs

21,230

$326,691,424

MSHS Programs

26,056

$507,016,585

Total

778,420

$11,467,137,336

Program Year Statistics

Each year, Head Start programs are required to submit Program Information Reports (PIR) on the services they have provided to children and families throughout the program year, including child, family, and staff demographics and program characteristics.

For a copy of the PIR form, detailed reports, data sets for the 2023 PIR and prior years, and further information, please visit the Program Information Report (PIR) page.

Program Characteristics

Most grant recipients provided both Head Start and Early Head Start services during the 2022–2023 program year.

Grant Recipient Services by Age Group. Early Head Start only (ages 0-2) is 12 percent. Head Start preschool (ages 3-5) is 27 percent. Both Head Start and Early Head Start (ages 0-5) is 61 percent.

About 97% of funded Head Start preschool services were in center-based settings, and the majority were funded for 1,020 or more hours, including 20% to operate in center-based settings for 10 hours per day for the full calendar year. About 65% of funded EHS services were in center-based settings, including about 49% to operate in center-based settings for 10 hours per day for the full calendar year. Additionally, about 30% of funded EHS services were in home-based settings.

Head Start preschool funded program options. Center based for 1020 or more hours: 62 percent and 10 hours per day and full calendar year is 19 percent. Center based for less than 1020 hours is 15 percent. Home based is 1 percent. Locally designed is 2 percent. Family child care is 1 percent.Early Head Start preschool funded program options. Center based for 1020 or more hours: 32 percent and 10 hours per day and full calendar year is 32 percent. Center based for less than 1020 hours is 1 percent. Home based is 30 percent. Locally designed is 1 percent. Family child care is 4 percent.

Child and Family Demographics

During the 2022–2023 program year, programs experienced significant challenges in meeting full enrollment during which were primarily workforce related and largely due to staff shortages. Head Start programs cumulatively served 799,901 children ages birth to 5 and pregnant women and pregnant people throughout the 2022–2023 program year.

Note that cumulative enrollment refers to the actual number of children, pregnant women, and pregnant people that Head Start programs served throughout the entire program year, inclusive of enrollees who left during the program year and the enrollees who filled those vacancies. Due to turnover, more children and expectant families may receive Head Start services cumulatively throughout the program year, all of whom are reported in the PIR, than indicated by the funded enrollment.

Cumulative enrollment by age. Pregnant women is 2 percent. Under 1 year old is 7 percent. 1 year old is 9 percent. 2 years old is 14 percent. 3 years old is 33 percent.  4 years old is 34 percent. 5 years old is 1 percent.

The Head Start program served a diverse group of children, families, and pregnant women and pregnant people. Thirty-seven percent identified themselves as Hispanic or Latino, and 29% were Black or African American, non-Hispanic or -Latino. Additionally, about 34% of children enrolled were dual language learners, of which nearly two-thirds were in families that primarily spoke Spanish at home.

Cumulative enrollment by race and ethnicity. Hispanic or Latino any race is 37 percent. Black or African American is 29 percent. White is 23 percent. Multi-racial is 5 percent. AIAN is 3 percent. Asian is 2 percent. Native Hawaiian or other Pacific islander is 1 percent and Other is 0.5 percent.

Services to Children and Families

Head Start programs work with families to help ensure children have access to needed services and resources. The number of children who were up to date on immunizations (or had otherwise received all possible immunizations, or were exempt) increased from the beginning of the program year to the end of the program year. Also, more families had continuous, accessible health care and dental care for their children at the end of the 2022–2023 program year than at the beginning.

Children's Health Measures:  at enrollment and after enrollment. Children up to date 92 percent / 94 percent. Children with health insurance: 95percent / 96 percent. Children with continuous accessible health care: 94 percent / 95 percent. Children with continuous dental care: 80 percent / 86 percent.

Head Start programs work with families to ensure they have the means to obtain health insurance, services for children with disabilities, adequate housing, job training, and more.

During the 2022–2023 program year:

  • Most children had public health insurance. At the end of the program year, 96% of children had health insurance and were primarily enrolled in Medicaid or the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP) program.
  • Fourteen percent of Head Start cumulative enrollment was made up of children with disabilities, defined as children having special plans under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA).
  • Among pregnant women and pregnant people enrolled in EHS, approximately 86% received prenatal education on fetal development and 25% had medically high-risk pregnancies.
  • The Head Start program served about 723,000 families cumulatively throughout the program year. The number of families served is less than the number of participants served, since some families have more than one child enrolled.
  • Approximately 48,000 families served during the enrollment year experienced homelessness. Of those families, 23% found housing during the program year. Approximately 51,000 Head Start families received housing assistance, such as subsidies, utilities, and repairs.
  • Approximately 80,000 families, or 11%, received services related to job training and adult education, such as general equivalency diploma (GED) programs and college selection.

Program Staff

Head Start programs employed and contracted with 250,000 staff. Parents of current or former Head Start children made up 23% of Head Start staff.

  • Approximately 542,000 adults volunteered in their local Head Start program. Of these, 400,000 were parents of Head Start children.
  • About 113,000 staff members provided child development services to children, including teachers, assistant teachers, home visitors, and family child care providers.
  • Among child development staff, 31% were proficient in a language other than English
  • Of all Head Start center-based preschool teachers, 68% had a baccalaureate degree or higher in early childhood education or a related field with experience. The Head Start Act specifies that 50% of center-based preschool teachers nationwide should have had these credentials by 2013.
Education and training of preschool teachers. Preschool teacher with an AA or higher in ECE or related field, 93 percent and out of those, preschool teachers with a BA or higher in ECE or related field, 68 percent. No related ECE credential or degree, 3 percent. CDA, 4 percent.