Child care is one of the most significant expenses in a family's budget and often exceeds the cost of housing or public college tuition.4 The annual
price of a child care center surpasses $ 10,000 per child, putting it out of reach for many low - and middle - income families.
Not exact matches
The average cost
of center - based daycare in the United States is $ 11,666 per year ($ 972 a month), but
prices range from $ 3,582 to $ 18,773 a year ($ 300 to $ 1,564 monthly), according to the National Association
of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies.
The average cost
of center - based daycare in the United States is $ 11,666 per year ($ 972 a month), but
prices range from $ 3,582 to $ 18,773 a year ($ 300 to $ 1,564 monthly), according to the National Association
of Child Care Resource & Referral Agencies (NACCRRA).
How much are individual households spending to send a
child to a
center - based program — in other words, what is the market
price of child care?
Using nationally representative data from the 2016 Early Childhood Program Participation Survey, Russ Whitehurst calculates hourly and annualized
prices for parents who purchase at least eight hours a week
of center - based
care for a
child under five who does not have a disability (and do so without outside financial help in paying the fees).
Questions about cost (how much is being spent) and
price (how much is being charged) for the
center - based
care [1]
of young
children loom large among parents, the childcare industry, policymakers, and government.
The means in the table are lower than those reported by
Child Care Aware based on its survey of program providers, but in the same range, e.g., the Child Care Aware average of state averages for the yearly price of infant, toddler, and four - year - old center - based care is $ 9,697, [14] contrasted with $ 8,933 from the present sample of pare
Care Aware based on its survey
of program providers, but in the same range, e.g., the
Child Care Aware average of state averages for the yearly price of infant, toddler, and four - year - old center - based care is $ 9,697, [14] contrasted with $ 8,933 from the present sample of pare
Care Aware average
of state averages for the yearly
price of infant, toddler, and four - year - old
center - based
care is $ 9,697, [14] contrasted with $ 8,933 from the present sample of pare
care is $ 9,697, [14] contrasted with $ 8,933 from the present sample
of parents.
[11] Together, the analyses that follow come closer than heretofore to a valid estimate
of the market
price for
center - based
care for normally developing young
children under five years
of age who are receiving such
care for a substantial number
of hours each week.
The
price paid by parents for
center - based
care is to the Child Care Aware data as the amount of money that families spend eating out is to a compilation of menu prices of restaura
care is to the
Child Care Aware data as the amount of money that families spend eating out is to a compilation of menu prices of restaura
Care Aware data as the amount
of money that families spend eating out is to a compilation
of menu
prices of restaurants.
Despite evidence
of the positive impact
of high - quality early childhood education for all
children, it remains out
of reach for most low - and moderate - income families.15 The average
price of center - based
care in the United States accounts for nearly 30 percent
of the median family income, and only 10 percent
of child care programs are considered high quality.16 Publicly funded programs — such as Head Start, Early Head Start,
child care, and state pre-K programs — are primarily targeted at low - income families, but limited funding for these programs severely hinders access.17 This lack
of access to high - quality early childhood education perpetuates the achievement gap, evidenced by the fact that only 48 percent
of low - income
children are ready for kindergarten, compared with 75 percent
of moderate - or high - income
children.18
Teachers work in a variety
of settings, including public schools, private
child care centers, and targeted preschool programs such as Head Start.7 Public funds for
child care typically include per -
child rates that assume historically low wages for providers.8 In the private market, most parents can not afford higher fees, but current
prices do not allow for needed wage increases, comprehensive benefits, and supports for professional development.9
Methodology: GOBankingRates surveyed all 50 states, analyzing eight data points that served as determining factors in the ranking: (1) median household income, sourced from the Census Bureau in 2015 dollars; (2) median home listing
price as
of June 2017, sourced from Zillow; (3) food spending, using the grocery index sourced from Missouri Economic Research and Information
Center and multiplying it against the average amount spent on food from the BLS consumer spending survey from July 2015 - July 2016; (4) employee health insurance premium contribution, sourced from the Commonwealth Fund; (5) annual
child care costs for an infant and a 4 - year - old, sourced from Child Care Aware of America; (6) whether the state offers paid time - off for family leave; (7) whether the state has expanded the earned - income Tax Credit at the state level; (8) whether the state expanded Medicaid coverage as part of the Affordable Care
child care costs for an infant and a 4 - year - old, sourced from Child Care Aware of America; (6) whether the state offers paid time - off for family leave; (7) whether the state has expanded the earned - income Tax Credit at the state level; (8) whether the state expanded Medicaid coverage as part of the Affordable Care
care costs for an infant and a 4 - year - old, sourced from
Child Care Aware of America; (6) whether the state offers paid time - off for family leave; (7) whether the state has expanded the earned - income Tax Credit at the state level; (8) whether the state expanded Medicaid coverage as part of the Affordable Care
Child Care Aware of America; (6) whether the state offers paid time - off for family leave; (7) whether the state has expanded the earned - income Tax Credit at the state level; (8) whether the state expanded Medicaid coverage as part of the Affordable Care
Care Aware
of America; (6) whether the state offers paid time - off for family leave; (7) whether the state has expanded the earned - income Tax Credit at the state level; (8) whether the state expanded Medicaid coverage as part
of the Affordable
Care Care Act.