Hello everyone,
The last project of Dashboard Week focused on child care in the United States from 2008 to 2018.
The dataset contained over 200 columns, with all column names in abbreviation. I began by reviewing the documentation to understand the abbreviations, and then I planned out the key insights I wanted to highlight in my dashboard.
Since I was working with a single dataset, there was no need for modeling or establishing relationships.
Although the data was fairly clean, the high number of columns made it somewhat challenging to navigate.
Given my interest in socioeconomic topics, I focused on economic indicators such as poverty, unemployment rate, and household income.
I also aimed to showcase child care prices across various age groups, so I created a parameter to toggle between these groups (Infants, Toddlers, Preschool, School-age). I then developed a calculated field to link the selected age group with the corresponding average child care price.
Conclusion:
Poverty Rate: The poverty rate rose until 2014, reaching 12%. Thankfully, we see a decline after 2014, falling to 11% by 2018.
Household Income: Median household income increased from $50,000 in 2008 to $51,350 in 2010. However, it then declined to $49,330 by 2014. After 2014, household income rebounded, reaching $51,578 by 2018.
Child Care Prices: As shown in the final line chart (Average Price Over Time), the average price of child care rose significantly from 2008 to 2018, increasing from approximately $190 to $383. This upward trend is particularly steep from 2008 to 2016, with growth stabilizing between 2016 and 2018, which may indicate a market adjustment. The steady increase in prices over this period could impact family affordability and access to child care, highlighting a potential area for policymakers to consider easing the financial burden on households.
