This report is the first of a four-part series related to the role played by paid child care services in the U.S. economy. The first report explores three topic areas: The first topic addresses who uses paid child care, how much it costs, and how its usage varies across the states. It includes a close review of the impact of the COVID pandemic on paid child care utilization in 2019 compared to 2020; The second topic area examines a range of economic, demographic, and child care market characteristics that influence the use of paid child care nationally and across the states; The third topic area examines the critical link between labor force participation (especially of women and mothers) and the use of paid child care services. (author abstract)