Working parents know just how expensive child care is in this country and a new report reveals just how pricey it’s become. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, “affordable” child care is 7% of a person’s income. But based on that number, not one single state has affordable child care for its residents.
- To find out which states have the most and least affordable child care, GoBankingRates analyzed the cost of child care for infants, toddlers and four-year-olds based on numbers from ChildCareAware’s Child Care Data Center, then assessed the percentage of median home income this care costs.
- The study finds that South Dakota is the cheapest state for child care in the U.S., with families there spending 8.81% of their income - about $7,200 - on child care.
- Massachusetts is the most expensive overall, with the average parent spending more than 17% of their income - around $20-thousand - on a child care center for their kid.
- Family child care, also called home child care, is when kids are cared for in a residential setting and it’s more affordable in every state than center-based child care. It’s the most expensive in Massachusetts and Washington state and most affordable in Mississippi.
The Most Affordable States for Child Care
- South Dakota
- North Dakota
- New Hampshire
- Utah
- Maryland
- Missouri
- Mississippi
- Wyoming
- Kentucky
- Georgia
The Least Affordable States for Child Care
- Michigan
- Nevada
- Massachusetts
- New York
- Rhode Island
- Washington
- North Carolina
- New Jersey
- California
- New Mexico
Source: GoBankingRates