Daycare costs have been kicking my butt lately. With everyday costs rising while our salaries stay pretty much the same, it’s really been hard.
My paycheck might as well skip the direct deposit to my account and go straight to the daycare’s.
I got curious and started doing a little research to find out if everyone else was going through the same thing. Were childcare costs this high everywhere?
It turns out that the vast majority of us who pay for childcare are collectively getting our butts kicked.
I looked up this data from the Economic Policy Institute and organized it from most to least expensive. The Economic Policy Institute is a non-profit organization that does research on economics and how policies impact working people.
Honestly, I knew we were paying a lot of childcare, but I was shocked to see the numbers.
| Infant cost per year | 4 year old cost per year | |
| Washington D.C. | $28,356 | $22,714 |
| Massachusetts | $26,709 | $17,939 |
| Minnesota | $22,569 | $17,882 |
| California | $21,945 | $13,020 |
| Colorado | $21,840 | $15,992 |
| Hawaii | $21,167 | $15,224 |
| Alaska | $20,943 | $16,768 |
| Washington | $20,677 | $14,413 |
| Connecticut | $20,254 | $16,493 |
| Oregon | $19,064 | $13,717 |
| Maryland | $18,946 | $13,355 |
| Vermont | $18,836 | $18,366 |
| New Jersey | $18,155 | $17,534 |
| New Hampshire | $17,364 | $14,437 |
| New York | $17,361 | $14,988 |
| Ohio | $17,071 | $13,426 |
| Wisconsin | $16,956 | $14,974 |
| Rhode Island | $16,758 | $14,193 |
| Delaware | $16,220 | $12,168 |
| Illinois | $16,107 | $10,947 |
| Nevada | $15,950 | $13,268 |
| Arizona | $15,625 | $12,152 |
| Indiana | $14,471 | $9,925 |
| Virginia | $14,277 | $10,807 |
| New Mexico | $14,244 | $9,993 |
| Nebraska | $14,106 | $11,863 |
| Pennsylvania | $13,354 | $11,798 |
| Maine | $13,310 | $11,227 |
| Missouri | $13,173 | $10,332 |
| Utah | $13,094 | $9,725 |
| Florida | $13,021 | $9,548 |
| Montana | $12,778 | $11,418 |
| Oklahoma | $12,468 | $10,790 |
| North Dakota | $12,373 | $10,474 |
| Tennessee | $12,249 | $8,469 |
| Georgia | $11,863 | $10,359 |
| North Carolina | $11,720 | $7,744 |
| South Carolina | $11,512 | $10,481 |
| Texas | $10,706 | $9,664 |
| Michigan | $10,023 | $9,007 |
| West Virginia | $9,692 | $9,540 |
| Idaho | $9,630 | $8,117 |
| Iowa | $9,605 | $8,276 |
| Wyoming | $9,327 | $9,006 |
| Kansas | $9,105 | $7,963 |
| Arkansas | $8,873 | $7,670 |
| Louisiana | $8,873 | $8,153 |
| Kentucky | $8,756 | $7,778 |
| South Dakota | $8,680 | $7,893 |
| Alabama | $7,871 | $7,268 |
| Mississippi | $6,868 | $6,251 |
Crazy, right? For me, the cost of daycare is almost TWENTY PERCENT of my salary.
That number doesn’t even factor in all the curricular activities and other essential supplies for my son.
With these kinds of numbers, paying for regular childcare is a significant financial burden on many working moms and our families. And, keep in mind, these are averages – meaning some of us pay even more.
These kinds of costs have significant consequences on the kinds of jobs we take, the choices we make for our careers, where we live, and even our decision to have more kids or not.
According to an article from Motherly, moms are dipping into their 401k’s, declining to have more kids, leaving the workforce, taking longer leave, moving across states, choosing higher-paying jobs even if they don’t want it, and living paycheck-to-paycheck – all to afford childcare or avoid paying for it.
Here are 4 things I think it’s important to point out about this data.
- It doesn’t differentiate between center-based and home-based childcare. Center-based childcare tends to be more expensive than home-based, which can make a difference with regards to monthly costs.
- These numbers are per child. That means many families with multiple children in daycare are literally fighting for their lives to pay for childcare.
- There’s not a significant difference between childcare costs for infants versus 4 year-olds. I really hoped costs would become less expensive as my son got older, but it doesn’t go down as much as I would have liked.
- These numbers are averages. These are just average costs, meaning that some of us pay more (or less) for daycare.
I thought I was struggling, but it looks like we’re all in the same boat.
I live in a two-income household with just one kid, and I still feel like we can’t afford the things we want. A more spacious home? Not right now. A bigger car? Maybe someday.
For now, all I can do is keep on working and trying to do the best for my family.
- 8 things you should know before starting your daycare search
- The daycare tour: FAQs and what to expect when you go
- Red flags to look out when searching for daycares
- A step-by-step approach to searching for and finding the right daycare
- How soon is too soon? When and how to start searching for daycares
