DATA
Working conditions for
childcare workers by prefecture
Pay levels for childcare workers, how easy it is to get a nursery place, and rents, side by side for all 47 prefectures. Click a column heading to sort the table.
Job openings-to-applicants ratio for childcare workers (July 2026)
Nationwide it is 2.80 (1.15 for all occupations), meaning there are 2.80 openings per applicant. It peaks around January every year, and was 3.88 in January 2026. Prefectures differ widely: the highest is about 5 times the lowest.
Highest prefectures
Lowest prefectures
17 prefectures are above the national average. 26 are up on the same month last year.
Source: 保育士の有効求人倍率の推移（R8.7） — job openings-to-applicants ratio for childcare workers (Children and Families Agency, Sept 2026; based on the Employment Security Statistics of the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). Ratios change a lot from month to month, so compare figures for the same month.
All 47 prefectures
| Japan | ¥4,276,000 | ¥285,700 | ¥847,900 | 2,435 | 87.7% | ¥64,819 |
| Hokkaido | ¥4,405,000 | ¥281,300 | ¥1,029,800 | 38 | 86.5% | ¥50,647 |
| Aomori | ¥3,675,000 | ¥240,200 | ¥792,300 | 0 | 83.1% | ¥45,427 |
| Iwate | ¥3,825,000 | ¥256,300 | ¥749,300 | 0 | 81.4% | ¥48,300 |
| Miyagi | ¥3,588,000 | ¥251,800 | ¥566,200 | 26 | 91% | ¥56,106 |
| Akita | ¥4,177,000 | ¥265,800 | ¥987,000 | 0 | 79.4% | ¥46,873 |
| Yamagata | ¥3,408,000 | ¥241,900 | ¥505,600 | 0 | 82.3% | ¥49,108 |
| Fukushima | ¥4,241,000 | ¥259,200 | ¥1,130,600 | 3 | 83.5% | ¥50,491 |
| Ibaraki | ¥4,208,000 | ¥284,000 | ¥799,600 | 1 | 86.7% | ¥51,905 |
| Tochigi | ¥3,694,000 | ¥245,000 | ¥753,600 | 0 | 84.9% | ¥50,428 |
| Gunma | ¥4,067,000 | ¥256,200 | ¥992,100 | 0 | 85.6% | ¥48,745 |
| Saitama | ¥4,117,000 | ¥276,700 | ¥796,400 | 140 | 92.9% | ¥65,198 |
| Chiba | ¥4,490,000 | ¥312,800 | ¥736,200 | 69 | 89.5% | ¥65,176 |
| Tokyo | ¥4,631,000 | ¥315,200 | ¥848,600 | 1,113 | 91.1% | ¥93,973 |
| Kanagawa | ¥4,312,000 | ¥301,800 | ¥690,100 | 65 | 94.6% | ¥75,720 |
| Niigata | ¥3,862,000 | ¥258,100 | ¥764,700 | 0 | 81.2% | ¥50,540 |
| Toyama△ | ¥3,464,000 | ¥242,200 | ¥557,600 | 0 | 81.2% | ¥50,046 |
| Ishikawa | ¥3,984,000 | ¥248,100 | ¥1,007,200 | 0 | 81.4% | ¥49,676 |
| Fukui△ | ¥4,077,000 | ¥267,300 | ¥869,700 | 0 | 80.3% | ¥50,934 |
| Yamanashi | ¥4,729,000 | ¥290,500 | ¥1,243,100 | 0 | 74.6% | ¥51,102 |
| Nagano | ¥4,083,000 | ¥263,000 | ¥926,800 | 20 | 74% | ¥51,579 |
| Gifu | ¥4,048,000 | ¥271,000 | ¥796,300 | 1 | 79.6% | ¥49,741 |
| Shizuoka | ¥4,696,000 | ¥298,100 | ¥1,118,800 | 0 | 85.4% | ¥55,791 |
| Aichi | ¥4,563,000 | ¥308,600 | ¥860,100 | 47 | 82.9% | ¥60,115 |
| Mie | ¥4,042,000 | ¥273,300 | ¥762,600 | 73 | 82.6% | ¥51,564 |
| Shiga | ¥4,519,000 | ¥297,200 | ¥952,900 | 102 | 90.7% | ¥55,295 |
| Kyoto | ¥4,567,000 | ¥287,900 | ¥1,112,200 | 15 | 88.8% | ¥61,585 |
| Osaka | ¥4,353,000 | ¥295,500 | ¥806,900 | 133 | 94.9% | ¥63,912 |
| Hyogo | ¥4,262,000 | ¥288,800 | ¥796,300 | 200 | 93.8% | ¥64,495 |
| Nara△ | ¥3,771,000 | ¥261,400 | ¥634,300 | 147 | 86.4% | ¥56,990 |
| Wakayama | ¥3,865,000 | ¥255,800 | ¥795,400 | 32 | 84.7% | ¥47,806 |
| Tottori | ¥3,887,000 | ¥262,000 | ¥742,700 | 0 | 77.3% | ¥47,759 |
| Shimane | ¥3,855,000 | ¥261,700 | ¥714,400 | 3 | 86.6% | ¥49,334 |
| Okayama | ¥4,245,000 | ¥263,600 | ¥1,081,700 | 20 | 87.7% | ¥52,073 |
| Hiroshima | ¥3,802,000 | ¥263,500 | ¥640,300 | 11 | 83.3% | ¥55,774 |
| Yamaguchi | ¥3,914,000 | ¥263,200 | ¥755,300 | 16 | 88% | ¥47,797 |
| Tokushima | ¥4,319,000 | ¥285,700 | ¥890,300 | 2 | 84.2% | ¥48,945 |
| Kagawa△ | ¥3,235,000 | ¥230,100 | ¥473,300 | 1 | 80.3% | ¥49,422 |
| Ehime | ¥4,491,000 | ¥280,200 | ¥1,128,700 | 0 | 82.6% | ¥47,120 |
| Kochi | ¥4,112,000 | ¥273,800 | ¥826,500 | 6 | 75.8% | ¥46,865 |
| Fukuoka | ¥4,261,000 | ¥285,400 | ¥836,200 | 53 | 90.9% | ¥55,710 |
| Saga | ¥4,062,000 | ¥262,300 | ¥913,900 | 0 | 84.2% | ¥50,991 |
| Nagasaki | ¥4,315,000 | ¥273,200 | ¥1,036,400 | 15 | 88.7% | ¥49,965 |
| Kumamoto | ¥3,685,000 | ¥251,400 | ¥667,700 | 0 | 89.6% | ¥49,984 |
| Oita | ¥4,155,000 | ¥251,600 | ¥1,135,900 | 0 | 86.9% | ¥46,526 |
| Miyazaki | ¥4,043,000 | ¥239,800 | ¥1,165,500 | 0 | 87.5% | ¥45,755 |
| Kagoshima | ¥4,556,000 | ¥282,500 | ¥1,166,400 | 5 | 86.3% | ¥45,791 |
| Okinawa | ¥3,892,000 | ¥268,600 | ¥669,100 | 78 | 90.3% | ¥52,718 |
Sources: annual pay, monthly pay, bonuses = 令和7年賃金構造基本統計調査 — Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Mar 2026), by occupation and prefecture (childcare workers) / waitlisted children, enrollment rate = 保育所等関連状況取りまとめ（令和8年4月1日） — summary of the childcare facility situation as of Apr 1, 2026 (Children and Families Agency, Aug 2026; the material notes provisional figures due to the effects of the Kumamoto earthquake) / rent = 令和5年住宅・土地統計調査 第19表 — 2023 Housing and Land Survey, Table 19 (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, published Sept 2025)