OUR WORK
Poll Data
At Groundwork Ohio, we conduct statewide polls to listen directly to voters and understand their priorities for young children and families. Public opinion research helps us uncover how issues like child care, early learning, and family health affect communities across political lines. By sharing these insights with policymakers, partners, and the public, we ensure that real voter voices drive evidence-based solutions and inform the investments Ohio’s children and working families need to thrive.
2026 POLL DATA
Key Findings:
1. Affordability is the defining concern for Ohio voters heading into the 2026 election. Nearly two-thirds, 64%, identify lowering the cost-of-living as one of the two most important issues facing their families.
2. 76% of Ohio voters say the ability to find and afford quality child care is a crisis or major problem: 62% of Republicans, 78% of independents, and 94% of Democrats.
3. 74% of voters agree that increasing access to high-quality child care will strengthen Ohio’s economy and workforce. Parents agree at 77%.
2024 POLL DATA
Key Findings:
1. For Ohio parents, child care is difficult to access and afford. Most parents with children five and under (51%) believe the availability of high quality and affordable child care has gotten worse over the last few years.
2. To most Ohioans—especially parents—the linkage between child care and the state’s economy is undeniable.
3. Overwhelming majorities of Ohio voters (86%) and parents with young children (90%) agree that increasing access to high-quality child care will help strengthen the state’s economy and workers.
2022 POLL DATA
Recap:
A statewide poll of Ohio voters and parents with children under the age of 5 finds that access to quality, affordable child care is key to getting Ohioans back to work. The poll—commissioned by Groundwork Ohio and conducted by Public Opinion Strategies—also shows that these parents care deeply about early childhood education and are willing to voice their support at the voting booth and to their elected officials.
2025 POLL DATA
Key Findings:
1. Child care is in crisis. Nearly 80% of Ohio voters and voters across the nation say the ability of working parents to find and afford quality child care is either in a “state of crisis” or is a “major problem.”
2. Child care drives workforce participation. More than one-third (34%) of Ohioans—and 56% of Ohio parents—say they or someone they know would consider entering the workforce if quality child care were available.
3. Child care shapes voting behavior. By more than a two-to-one margin (36%), Ohioans say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate of the opposite political party if that candidate advanced policies to help working families afford quality child care.
2023 POLL DATA
Recap:
On behalf of Groundwork Ohio, Public Opinion Strategies completed a statewide survey of 800 registered voters and an oversample of 435 parents with children under the age of five in Ohio. The survey was conducted February 2-13, 2023 and has credibility interval of +3.95% for the registered voter sample and +5.36% for the parents oversample.
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