The break-even point is the revenue or unit volume where your total income equals total costs, no profit, no loss. Calculate it by dividing your total fixed costs by your gross profit margin (for revenue break-even) or by your contribution margin per unit (for unit break-even). Every small business owner should know this number before making any pricing, hiring, or expansion decision.
Break-Even Calculator for Daycare
Pre-filled with real daycare industry benchmarks
Daycare and childcare centers operate under strict regulatory constraints that directly affect your break-even. State licensing mandates specific staff-to-child ratios (commonly 1:4 for infants, 1:6 for toddlers, 1:10 for preschoolers), minimum square footage per child, and facility requirements that limit how many children you can serve and how many staff you must employ. Your largest expense is labor, typically 50 to 65% of revenue, because those mandated ratios mean you cannot reduce staffing below a certain floor regardless of enrollment. Fixed costs include rent or mortgage on a licensed facility, insurance (childcare-specific liability insurance runs $2,000 to $6,000/year), licensing and inspection fees, curriculum materials, and food if you provide meals. The break-even equation for daycare is straightforward: how many enrolled children at what weekly tuition rate covers your staff and overhead. Most small daycare centers need 70 to 85% enrollment capacity to break even. This calculator helps you model your specific situation based on your licensed capacity, ratios, and tuition rates.
Break-Even Calculator
Pre-filled with daycare industry defaults. Edit any field to use your real numbers.
Break-Even Units
86
Break-Even Revenue
$25,112
Contribution Margin
90.1%
Daycare industry average margin: 90.0% gross margin with 10.0% COGS.