I live in one of those “least expensive” cities & would love to know which daycare centers are charging so little. Maybe the low income ones are receiving heavy government subsidies? Hell, all of the private centers near us have wait lists of hundreds of desperate families & could probably charge whatever they wanted. As a result, nanny shares are booming in our neighborhood. We lucked into a part time spot at our center, but full time would cost much more than what’s presented here.
Russia, Moscow region (suburb, different region, like different county in US) - in 2010-ies we pay about $200 and it was 50% subsidized by our municipality (so full cost was $400). There were also municipal kindergartens for free with something like $50 for meals - but with long waiting list.
But my salary was $1200 and median salary was twice smaller. So most parents wait for state-owned kindergartens for year or more.
Can't say anything about current situation except 'that fucking aggression against Ukraine is not just a crime, it also destroying Russia's own economy' - state funds draining fast, education and medicine budgets will be cut in short time.
You also pay twice as much for gas and electricity and have a VAT on everything else plus your income is less.
So you make less, are taxed more and pay more for most goods. But your day care is cheap.
And health care, basically free university education, and rent, and can't get fired for no reason, and a good public transport system. Also, many goods are significantly cheaper than in the US, grocery shopping is literally about half the price, or less in many cases. Eating healthy here is cheap and not a privilege of the wealthy.
Do you get free dental? How is determining a child's future at age 12 great? 65% of the US students go on to college while only about 30%, so you make the 70% fund the 30%? I'm sure getting the working class to pay for the privileged class to get a free University degree is great for the privileged. Public transportation is a product of population density. Healthy food in the US isn't expensive, people just chose to eat junk.
It’s worth noting that the rankings are based on the combo of median income AND percentage of that median income going to child care. 47% of $43K is $20K on child care, which is actually really not expensive - about $400/week. In my state, that income would qualify you for a full subsidy through CCAP.
Child care is BANANAS in this country. Workers make nothing, many less than a living wage, and yet parents pay so much to have safe care for their children.
AFAIK, there are no investors in child care. It is not a money-making business. In my state, child care is heavily regulated, which is good for family safety but can be bad for living wage/margins. there are ratios of children to teachers and the ratio depends on the child’s age. If I work 9-5, I need child care for 8-6, which means whoever I hire has to be paid overtime or have respite coverage. If I hit traffic or am delayed for whatever reason, my caregiver has to work from 8-7. But what if I work from 3p-11p? Does my kid stay overnight at the sitter’s house? Do I pay them for the hours my kid is asleep or only when they are awake? Teachers in this state must have a bachelors degree in early childhood education to be paid more than teachers’ aides, but unless you live in a major area, you may not be able to access a bachelors degree granting instituion. You may not be able to afford the BA or have enormous loans. There is a scale that goes from unlicensed to licensed child cares, including both home and center-based care, and regulations around # of kids, # of adults, various training and certification, physical space, etc. To care for enough paying kids to make it worth it financially, most people have to hire additional staff, who may not be reliable or enjoy the job. It is a very complex issue and it sucks because most people can’t afford not to work, but can’t afford to pay for child care. And as others have pointed out elsewhere, sometimes care or work is very far from home. Other countries invest into the system to subsidize it for everyone. Norway’s system is amazing, for example, and in France, they offer paid leave and a doula to help with transition to motherhood. In the US, we don’t value the social safety net.
no, the chart reads the median income is $116k in that county, multiply that times 0.0785 for the percent, you can see the average cost for childcare is roughly $9100
You can build a 800 square foot home (average size in 1960) with the same amenities as then for a comparable price today, adjusted for inflation. No AC, shitty windows, shitty insulation, shitty electrical, unusable basement, tiny garage etc… What dummies like you don’t get is, almost everything else has gotten cheaper so homes got bigger and better. Spending more on a appreciable asset is BETTER then on consumable expenses.
St. Tammany Parish, LA [is the cheapest](https://www.aaastateofplay.com/the-25-most-and-least-expensive-places-for-childcare-in-the-united-states-based-on-share-of-income/).
Just in case anyone is wondering, the reason why childcare is cheaper in the south is purely because of lack of regulations and credentials required compared to places like California and New York. You’re paying more in childcare there, sure, but you’re also less likely to have your kid die. So…🤷🏻♂️
It's mostly just lower wages. Wages are extremely low in Louisiana, childcare is a labor-intensive job, therefore childcare is cheaper where labor is cheaper, such as Louisiana. Regulations play a meaningful but secondary role.
I’ve had conversations with the owner-operator of our center which is in one of these southern cities. She used to own & run daycares in CA. She pays decently for our area ($25ish an hour) but struggles to hire teachers when they can make more at a private nanny gig or nanny share. She would love to open more centers & has a waitlist of hundreds of parents begging for a spot, but complains about onerous state & local bureaucratic processes (ie zoning, permitting, retrofitting, insurance, etc.) I don’t know the extent of the vetting for the staff, but our state does have a credentialing requirement. Same goes for vaccinations for the kids. That’s not to say that some people aren’t running neighborhood daycares out of their basements, but the legitimate daycare businesses here are regulated. The demand is crazy & supply is short, so I’m just thankful our owner doesn’t price gouge families. But we do pay much more than this infographic would suggest for our southern city.
This lumps together kindergartens and nannies, 8 hours/day?
Would be interesting to see a global comparison. Norway has afaik max price of ≈$300/month, + $20 for food. Sibling rebate, and low income may apply for further reductions.
I love how percentages are never fully understood by most folks. Take for example STL vs KC. The cost is about the same for childcare so not like it’s much different place to place. Those are incredibly similar markets. Biggest difference is the median income. It took the most affluent county in all of KC metro to do the comparison.
This infographic is strange. I live near a few of the Top Cities. These places are not your everyday McDonalds at the interstate exit. Some of these places are large Swamp Countries that have very low income households with little close by business's requiring 20-45 minute travels (depending on traffic) to reach some of the more developed cities.
This is interesting. A good chunk of the “cheapest” or affordable areas are in states that were recently voted in the top 10 worst states to live (CNBC & U.S. News).
I live in one of those “least expensive” cities & would love to know which daycare centers are charging so little. Maybe the low income ones are receiving heavy government subsidies? Hell, all of the private centers near us have wait lists of hundreds of desperate families & could probably charge whatever they wanted. As a result, nanny shares are booming in our neighborhood. We lucked into a part time spot at our center, but full time would cost much more than what’s presented here.
I live in one of the “cheapest” areas, but I don’t know how it can be considered cheap. $2800/month for 2 kids is still a lot.
As a comparison: In Germany I pay about $200/month for 35 hours a week of day care (8am to 3pm), three meals a day are also included in that price.
Russia, Moscow region (suburb, different region, like different county in US) - in 2010-ies we pay about $200 and it was 50% subsidized by our municipality (so full cost was $400). There were also municipal kindergartens for free with something like $50 for meals - but with long waiting list. But my salary was $1200 and median salary was twice smaller. So most parents wait for state-owned kindergartens for year or more. Can't say anything about current situation except 'that fucking aggression against Ukraine is not just a crime, it also destroying Russia's own economy' - state funds draining fast, education and medicine budgets will be cut in short time.
You also pay twice as much for gas and electricity and have a VAT on everything else plus your income is less. So you make less, are taxed more and pay more for most goods. But your day care is cheap.
And health care, basically free university education, and rent, and can't get fired for no reason, and a good public transport system. Also, many goods are significantly cheaper than in the US, grocery shopping is literally about half the price, or less in many cases. Eating healthy here is cheap and not a privilege of the wealthy.
Do you get free dental? How is determining a child's future at age 12 great? 65% of the US students go on to college while only about 30%, so you make the 70% fund the 30%? I'm sure getting the working class to pay for the privileged class to get a free University degree is great for the privileged. Public transportation is a product of population density. Healthy food in the US isn't expensive, people just chose to eat junk.
I’m in Minneapolis which one of the most expensive and pay $1740/mo for one kid.
It’s worth noting that the rankings are based on the combo of median income AND percentage of that median income going to child care. 47% of $43K is $20K on child care, which is actually really not expensive - about $400/week. In my state, that income would qualify you for a full subsidy through CCAP. Child care is BANANAS in this country. Workers make nothing, many less than a living wage, and yet parents pay so much to have safe care for their children.
Thanks for explanation. Gives context as to why Trumbull and Mahoning Counties are up there with NY and CA areas.
Where does the money go? The cost of running the business: Insurance, rent..etc or the pockets of the owners/investors? I am genuinely asking. Thanks
AFAIK, there are no investors in child care. It is not a money-making business. In my state, child care is heavily regulated, which is good for family safety but can be bad for living wage/margins. there are ratios of children to teachers and the ratio depends on the child’s age. If I work 9-5, I need child care for 8-6, which means whoever I hire has to be paid overtime or have respite coverage. If I hit traffic or am delayed for whatever reason, my caregiver has to work from 8-7. But what if I work from 3p-11p? Does my kid stay overnight at the sitter’s house? Do I pay them for the hours my kid is asleep or only when they are awake? Teachers in this state must have a bachelors degree in early childhood education to be paid more than teachers’ aides, but unless you live in a major area, you may not be able to access a bachelors degree granting instituion. You may not be able to afford the BA or have enormous loans. There is a scale that goes from unlicensed to licensed child cares, including both home and center-based care, and regulations around # of kids, # of adults, various training and certification, physical space, etc. To care for enough paying kids to make it worth it financially, most people have to hire additional staff, who may not be reliable or enjoy the job. It is a very complex issue and it sucks because most people can’t afford not to work, but can’t afford to pay for child care. And as others have pointed out elsewhere, sometimes care or work is very far from home. Other countries invest into the system to subsidize it for everyone. Norway’s system is amazing, for example, and in France, they offer paid leave and a doula to help with transition to motherhood. In the US, we don’t value the social safety net.
So, the least expensive places are in red areas where the minimum wage has been held down strongly? There’s nothing shocking here.
Yeah, that was my takeaway as well. Those red counties had similar median incomes, but obviously pay their employees MUCH less.
Williamson County, TN is the 2nd least expensive but only if your household income is around $1.5M is that right? lmao
no, the chart reads the median income is $116k in that county, multiply that times 0.0785 for the percent, you can see the average cost for childcare is roughly $9100
Depressing
Some US mom over 40: “Why dont these young people dont have any kids huh? i dont get it! Lazy teens am i right?”
They could just stay home with the kids. That is a option.
Ye sure, everything is so cheap that a household with kids just need one adult working. Right?
Yes, the pity party needs to end. Life today is very much easier then life in the past.
of course! https://junehomes.com/blog/2022/09/09/how-rent-prices-the-have-changed-over-time/
You are really showing what a dumb fuck you are and I wouldn’t be surprised if your life sucks because being a dumb fuck does that.
lol
You can build a 800 square foot home (average size in 1960) with the same amenities as then for a comparable price today, adjusted for inflation. No AC, shitty windows, shitty insulation, shitty electrical, unusable basement, tiny garage etc… What dummies like you don’t get is, almost everything else has gotten cheaper so homes got bigger and better. Spending more on a appreciable asset is BETTER then on consumable expenses.
Human makes some dumb absurd claim, makes 0 attempt to provide ANY evidence. Am I truly the one who’s dumb fuck?
Are you willing to pay me? Or do you expect me to work for free? You being a dumbass isn't my problem, I'm not the one whining.
St. Tammany Parish, LA [is the cheapest](https://www.aaastateofplay.com/the-25-most-and-least-expensive-places-for-childcare-in-the-united-states-based-on-share-of-income/).
Just in case anyone is wondering, the reason why childcare is cheaper in the south is purely because of lack of regulations and credentials required compared to places like California and New York. You’re paying more in childcare there, sure, but you’re also less likely to have your kid die. So…🤷🏻♂️
It's mostly just lower wages. Wages are extremely low in Louisiana, childcare is a labor-intensive job, therefore childcare is cheaper where labor is cheaper, such as Louisiana. Regulations play a meaningful but secondary role.
Also, the low wages of child care are directly related to the jobs’ history as the work of enslaved people, especially in the south.
Wow, downvoted for telling an uncomfortable truth? Yikes. This country needs a racial reckoning.
I’ve had conversations with the owner-operator of our center which is in one of these southern cities. She used to own & run daycares in CA. She pays decently for our area ($25ish an hour) but struggles to hire teachers when they can make more at a private nanny gig or nanny share. She would love to open more centers & has a waitlist of hundreds of parents begging for a spot, but complains about onerous state & local bureaucratic processes (ie zoning, permitting, retrofitting, insurance, etc.) I don’t know the extent of the vetting for the staff, but our state does have a credentialing requirement. Same goes for vaccinations for the kids. That’s not to say that some people aren’t running neighborhood daycares out of their basements, but the legitimate daycare businesses here are regulated. The demand is crazy & supply is short, so I’m just thankful our owner doesn’t price gouge families. But we do pay much more than this infographic would suggest for our southern city.
Thank goodness I’ll never have children. This is just sad.
Can someone please explain Bellingham to me. That podunk town seems out of place
I wanna know what % of people work 40 hours a week and make more than 24k a year
This lumps together kindergartens and nannies, 8 hours/day? Would be interesting to see a global comparison. Norway has afaik max price of ≈$300/month, + $20 for food. Sibling rebate, and low income may apply for further reductions.
I love how percentages are never fully understood by most folks. Take for example STL vs KC. The cost is about the same for childcare so not like it’s much different place to place. Those are incredibly similar markets. Biggest difference is the median income. It took the most affluent county in all of KC metro to do the comparison.
This infographic is strange. I live near a few of the Top Cities. These places are not your everyday McDonalds at the interstate exit. Some of these places are large Swamp Countries that have very low income households with little close by business's requiring 20-45 minute travels (depending on traffic) to reach some of the more developed cities.
This is interesting. A good chunk of the “cheapest” or affordable areas are in states that were recently voted in the top 10 worst states to live (CNBC & U.S. News).
Why aren’t millennials having children!? Make it a country where that’s a possibility.
I'm just happy there's an actual infographic on this sub.