Parents pay a median price of $7,155- $15,600 a year for daycare, depending on the age of the child and location.
Those prices can strain the most generous budgets but fast-food workers feel the pinch more acutely as they earn an average of $30,110 a year, according to federal data.
“Restaurants employ a higher proportion of young workers, single parents, and women and people of color than most industries, and these are precisely the workers for whom the cost and timing of childcare most directly determine their ability to hold a job,” industry advocate Independent Restaurant Coalition reports.
Meanwhile, the fast-food industry’s top five CEO salaries averaged $23 million in 2025, according to Restaurant Dive.
So how many years of daycare could be covered by the salaries of the fast-food industry’s highest-paid CEOs?
Based on analysis of federal data and salary information, these are the salaries of the highest-paid CEOs in fast-food:
- Brian Niccol (Starbucks): $30,992,773
- Chris Kempczinski (McDonald’s): $20,574,525
- David Gibbs/Chris Turner (Taco Bell/KFC/Habit Burger & Grill): $17,904,655
- Scott Boatwright (Chipotle): $15,455,736
- Josh Kobza (Burger King): $15,159,780.
Gibbs and Turner’s total salary is a combination of what they both earned in 2025 - Gibbs was CEO from January to September, and Turner took charge from October.
Daycare is cheapest for preschool-aged children in small cities (less than 100,000 people) with a median cost of $7,155 per year. It's the most expensive for infants in big cities (with at least 1 million people) at $15,600 per year, according to data compiled by think tank Third Way.
Here’s how many years of daycare the CEO salaries could pay for preschool children in small cities:
- Brian Niccol: 4,332 years
- Chris Kempczinski: 2,876 years
- David Gibbs/Chris Turner: 2,502 years
- Scott Boatwright: 2,160 years
- Josh Kobza: 2,119 years.
And here’s how many years of daycare the salaries could pay for infants in large cities:
- Brian Niccol: 1,987 years
- Chris Kempczinski: 1,319 years
- David Gibbs/Chris Turner: 2,502 years
- Scott Boatwright: 2,160 years
- Josh Kobza: 2,119 years.
Combined, the CEOs make more than $100 million - enough to pay for up to 13,988 years of daycare.
Pay isn’t the only issue causing daycare instability for fast-food workers, either as unpredictable scheduling creates a host of issues.
“This can be especially problematic for parents who have to coordinate childcare without knowing their work schedules in advance,” a June 2025 report from the California Fast-Food Workers Union said.
“Research … shows that unpredictable work schedules are associated with negative health and behavioral outcomes for children.”
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