The information provided on this website does not, and is not intended to, act as legal, financial or credit advice; instead, it is for general informational purposes only. Information on this website may not be current. This website may contain links to other third-party websites. Such links are only for the convenience of the reader, user or browser; we do not recommend or endorse the contents of any third-party sites. Readers of this website should contact their attorney, accountant or credit counselor to obtain advice with respect to their particular situation. No reader, user, or browser of this site should act or not act on the basis of information on this site. Always seek personal legal, financial or credit advice for your relevant jurisdiction. Only your individual attorney or advisor can provide assurances that the information contained herein – and your interpretation of it – is applicable or appropriate to your particular situation. Use of, and access to, this website or any of the links or resources contained within the site do not create an attorney-client or fiduciary relationship between the reader, user, or browser and website owner, authors, contributors, contributing firms, or their respective employers.
Credit.com receives compensation for the financial products and services advertised on this site if our users apply for and sign up for any of them. Compensation is not a factor in the substantive evaluation of any product.
So you did your research, filled out applications and survived the interview process. Congratulations! Your child is off to the best day care in town. (Yes, day care is now this involved. It certainly wasn’t like that when we were kids!)
But with this accomplishment comes a seriously hefty price tag. The Economic Policy Institute recently released data about child care costs in the U.S. that found 33 states, plus Washington D.C., have day care facilities that charge more than college tuition for a four-year public school. That’s mind-blowing, especially for families with more than one kid.
Fortunately, some states’ child care won’t set parents back more than the cost of a mortgage. Using annual child care cost data from the Economic Policy Institute’s study, along with their stats on annual housing, we’ve listed 10 of them here.
Annual child care costs: $6,788
With the average annual cost of housing at slightly more than $8,200 in Oklahoma, child care costs 17.2% less than average rent in the state.
Annual child care costs: $6,541
Wyoming parents face child care costs around $2,785 more per year than the cost of in-state tuition at a local college.
Annual child care costs: $6,475
Sending your little one off to child care in the Palmetto State costs around $70 less than in Wyoming, but it will still take about 12% of an average family’s income.
Annual child care costs: $6,294
In Kentucky, families look at around $525 of their annual salary going to child care each month — and that’s just for one child.
Annual child care costs: $5,995
In Arkansas, minimum-wage workers dropping their little one off for the day would need to work full-time for 19 weeks straight just to pay off the costs of child care. (For more tips on saving without feeling miserly, go here.)
Annual child care costs: $5,857
The average cost of housing in the Volunteer State is just more than $8,600 annually, which means caring for a child costs 67.8% of rent in the state.
Annual child care costs: $5,747
Parents working to pay for expenses like child care would need to earn minimum wage for 20 weeks on a full-time basis in order to pay for one year of child care — and the costs would still take more than 10% of their income.
Annual child care costs: $5,661
While annual housing costs in South Dakota ($8,120) are just $400 more than the average cost of in-state tuition, child care is right up there. In fact, care for one child can take almost 10% of a family’s income.
Annual child care costs: $5,637
Although it has one of the lowest price tags in the nation, Alabama still sees residents facing child care costs that are 33.7% less than in-state tuition at a local four-year college. (Read up on how to pay for college without creating a mountain of debt here.)
Annual child care costs: $4,822
As the state with the lowest child care costs, Mississippi still sees parents pay around $400 each month to send their little ones to child care.
To think these numbers are tied to the cost of sending toddlers to preschool seems ridiculous, but to put it in perspective, Washington D.C., has the most expensive preschool costs in the nation, at $22,631 per year. Massachusetts has the second-most expensive costs for preschool, at $17,062 per year.
The numbers don’t lie — paying for child care can get expensive and some parents who want the best for their kids may even overextend themselves financially. Just remember — maxing out credit cards or taking on debt to pay for child care can seriously damage your credit. You can see how your credit card balances are impacting your credit scores for free on Credit.com.
Image: diego_cervo
April 11, 2023
Uncategorized
September 13, 2021
Uncategorized
August 4, 2021
Uncategorized