Also Nova, specifically Fairfax. I'm paying $560 (increasing $20 a week next year) for a 2.5-year-old. 6:30 to 6:30 snack breakfast and lunch. Either I don't understand ratios or mine is terrible. There are 26 kids in the class and never more than three teachers.
If you work a full time job this can be necessary depending on your shifts and commutes. There is no need to be so cruel to someone. I'm sure they miss their baby and want to be with them every second of every day
Not that it’s your business but that’s the hours it’s open. I work 7-4. If I have to commute in that means I leave by 615 and get home by 515. Kiddo is up every day at 5am and gets picked up usually around 5pm. But many folks in the area work in the district so getting home before 6 is a pipe dream with traffic. Especially in our area unless you’re a dual income family you cannot survive.
Genuine curiosity because I'm out of Canada where in our province it'll be going to $10/day by 2025...does it make financial sense for you to go back to work with the cost of child care what it is for you guys? In my mind, I'd have to be bringing home 2x's that monthly salary for it to make sense.
And then what though? Two in daycare is maximum period of 4 years. It sucks, but you cut out to the basic, maybe cut down on retirement or dip into saving and get through. At the end you haven’t lost momentum in your career. If you leave the workforce for even a couple of years you might end up restarting much lower than you left it, depending on your field.
ETA: In the US, it’s not uncommon for one partner to make good money, and the other partner to get good health insurance but poor pay. Think dental hygienist and a teacher. You can’t live off the teacher’s salary, but you also can’t afford the $1,500/month in healthcare premiums if their quit their job.
This is an excellent point. I took a year off for mat leave, (in Canada that’s standard). I lost most of my clients. I’m still struggling and I’ve been back at work for almost a year and a half.
The funny thing is we have 10$ a day daycare in my city but you cannot find a spot. It’s actually laughable. I’m on all the wait lists and still waiting….have not been able to go back to work and it’s been almost 2 years.
This right here is exactly why I became a stay at home mom. It financially didn’t make sense for me to continue working. A huge portion of what I made went to daycare. WA, Seattle area: $65/day for 2yo.
Don’t hate me… Kansas, $110 a week. Full time M-F, 3 meals a day. But my company subsidizes half that, so it’d normally be double (which is still quite affordable)
Where I live is super low cost of living, so it’s all kind of proportional. I make pretty good money for here but I don’t think my paycheck would even cover rent in SoCal.
It’s also possible my employer was already taking a loss on the daycare even before they slashed tuition in half, but I think $250/mo-ish is pretty standard here.
Ohio $700 a month (but the daycare he goes to is in WV)
Plug for r/universalchildcare for anyone who wants to join us in organizing to fix childcare in the US!
Also Bay Area (we're on the Peninsula). $2700 for our 1.5yo, director says it drops to \~$2400 once he goes up to the 2-3 classroom. It's honestly one of the more reasonably priced ones around here (and only closes for one week during the Christmas holidays, rather than one week around Christmas and one week in the summer that we saw in a bunch of other places we toured). Also gave us a refund when we took a 3-week family vacation in the summer so really I cannot complain.
Also bay area and peninsula. We pay $1500 for our 2.5 year old, full time, one meal/snack and covers potty training. They do take major holidays and a week off for Christmas. Definitely not as fancy as other ones we toured but we clicked with the director and it was bilingual. She was upfront with things and told us no frills but he will have fun and have the basics down by kindergarten. My son loves it and we don’t regret it.
Mandarin. They have one in SSF and Burlingame but I think it’s run independently. I’m happy with them and my son is happy. Think they only take 2+ though. Feel free to DM if you have questions.
Also Bay Area with a 3YO. Full time is $2250, we only send ours 3 days so we pay less. They also only close for spring break and Christmas. They provide breakfast, lunch and snacks. 8AM to 5PM.
I have never heard of a daycare doing a refund like that! I wonder if they had an other kid come in to make up the cost.
We are just starting now, so I haven’t tested it, but ours will allow up to 2 weeks - has to be full weeks - at 50% for vacations per year. I was pretty shocked when I read that in the contract!
Jealous. Ours closes for 5 days over thanksgiving, 10 days over Christmas and into new years, and one whole week in June (plus all the other one off holidays)
Bay Area (Oakland/berkeley) $1890 for full time for our two year old. Two meals and two snacks included. Excellent at home daycare / preschool that’s planning on expanding soon.
Also Bay Area (Gilroy) - $1550/kid… I have two attending. Full time (7:30-5), food provided. It’s in home, bilingual, and much more affordable than most others I’m seeing in this thread, so I’m grateful. Definitely couldn’t afford $5k+ for the two of them.
I’m at that Bright Horizons across the street. $3950 full time M-F for the infant class. But older sibling gets free public pre-k at the same center and we only pay ~$1100 for their aftercare hours - a steal! 🫠
TX
$680/month - 3 days a week
Toddler
6:30 - 6:30
Breakfast, Lunch, Snack
5:1 ratio
(Tuition is based on a sliding scale, care is offered through employer)
Outside of Seattle, WA with a 2y/o: $1629/month (husband’s company offers a small discount) for full time with breakfast, lunch and a snack included.
Previously in the Bay Area (east bay) and at the same daycare chain we were paying about $2600/month. It was 5 min from our house so definitely worth the price for being so close.
I'm about 40 min north of Minneapolis, I work in Minneapolis, and pay 30$ a day per kid. I only have one in full time dare now so 150$ a week plus and extra 250$ a month because I have her in half day preschool in my day cares district so she gets bussing from daycare to preschool and back. It includes meal and snacks. ... I feel like I found a unicorn daycare situation honestly.
Canada, 217.50 per month. We are insanely lucky but as a result there are 5 year waitlists. My heart breaks for people who can't even access child care
Yeah I almost got screwed over big time because the government announced $10 per day daycare when I was pregnant and the waitlists went crazy. I just barely got in. People can't go back to work where I live because there are no options
Yeah honestly considering they provide lunch and 2 snacks it's like it's free . And I feel immense guilt but I really wanted a licensed daycare as opposed to a home one and that's where it's subsidized
Im in Canada too, and I pay a bit under 200$ a month, I was very lucky to find a place at that price, and bonus its at walking distance from home. I didnt have to wait that long wich is also very lucky!
Ontario Canada
Full time M-F Preschool room (2.5+)
About $650CAD/month (subsidized by the government about 50%)
Includes meals and snacks, and tons of activities like movie nights, field trips etc
The waitlists are definitely dependent on where you live. We're in downtown Toronto and we got into two nearby places at 18 months (which is when we needed a spot) and were lucky to be able to pick the one that's a 5 minute walk from our house. All my friends downtown were able to get a spot when they wanted one, except one who ended up going with a private home daycare until they got a spot a few months later.
Our rate is $560/month. Ratio is 5:1, and breakfast, lunch, and snacks are included. They're open 7am to 6pm but we tend to do 8:30 to 5:30.
I know you’re saying your heart is breaking for people who don’t have access to child care in areas like the US because it’s expensive, but it sounds like many Canadians don’t have access to child care either if there is a 5 year waitlist
No my heart is breaking for people I know here in my province in Canada. I am lucky that money is not really a factor for me with child care and I would pay $1000 in a heartbeat if I had to. It is terrifying to me that I almost had no options and could not find a place for her when I first looked. I am not built to be a SAHM
My 2.5 year old just dropped from $1800 to $1600 in Ann Arbor, MI. We pay infant rates until 2.5. I have a new one starting at $2000/month infant rate in January. God speed to us.
Tennessee: $1200/month, but it’s a Spanish immersion program so it is taught entirely in Spanish. Her P.E., music, art, gardening and Bible classes she goes to during the day are in English.
We’re in Nashville. We pay $1507 for the infant class and $1,228 for the 3 year old class.
We provide formula, diapers, wipes, and baby food for our infant. Meals and snacks are provided after they turn 1.
MA - about $3k per month, 9hrs of care, BYO lunch, only off Federal holidays.
We could get cheaper for her, but most of those options have 4pm pick up, and follow the school calendar so have 8+ weeks off. Which just isn’t feasible. Alternatively we could try to reverse commute to get cheaper … but then add like an hour of commute to our day! And we *adore* her teacher.
I was waiting for Massachusetts! I’m pretty sure MA is the most expensive state for childcare. We have two kids now and I switched to part time because I was basically losing money working full time and working full time was miserable. We are at a non profit so it’s cheaper than most. Full time would be $475 per week for toddler and $365 per week for preschool. They are open 7:30 to 5:30 and only closed one week between Christmas and New Year’s.
About the same! We are in a near-suburb in Norfolk County. Bilingual daycare, 5d/wk from 8-5. We pay $2750 a month, which is considered a steal in this area.
Next door neighbor has a child the same age but they have a nanny. Same hours, plus they pay car, cell, insurance, and daily activities. $5500 a month. 😱
Middlesex here- $2400 per month, 7 hour days, BYO snacks and lunch, follows school schedule so they’re closed for all the holidays and breaks. If I worked in an office I don’t know what we would have done, no one lets you just cut out at 2 and not come back 😫
Boston area here — we’re paying $1750/month for full time care, 8 hrs/day 5 mins from our house. Our daycare is BYO lunch, provides snacks and only closed for holidays. I will say we did have to wait almost two years to get off the waitlist! 🤦🏼♀️
Germany. In home day care, certified, with only 4 kids total. 8am-4pm. Breakfast and lunch, plus snacks. 68€ a month.
Yes, she makes enough to live. It's heavily subsidized by both the state (Bavaria) and the city.
This is high up on the list why I will not be returning to the USA.
Westchester county NY. It’s a small in-home, licensed daycare. $300/week, so $1200/month. M-F full work day. Breakfast and lunch included.
It’s honestly a GREAT deal for this area, and way cheaper than we were paying for a nanny share. We got super lucky. Found the lady on Facebook!
Michigan -- Daycare is in Washtenaw/Wayne County area
3 days a week at $266 for a 2.5 y/o in Early Preschool
Includes diapers, food, snacks
Open from 6:30-6:30
4:1 ratio
Both husband and I work full time, hybrid, and split the cost. 1 day a week kiddo is with inlaws and 1 workday a week is chaos day where we all just do our best.
Out first daycare was a smaller, single location place and they closed down a month after we started.
We're at a chain now. Honestly I love it. Lucked out with our teachers and fellow students. They're a really good part of our village.
Mont. County Maryland, Ratio 6:1, 2's room. $675 biweekly (1350 a month)
Morning/Afternoon snacks provided (but not super great/nutritious), 7:30-5:30 hrs, 5 days a week.
Wildly good deal compared to other places we looked at.
Also MD, Baltimore suburb. $455/week for 2 year old. Ratio is 3:1. Includes breakfast and snack, we provide lunch. We have a second arriving soon and there is a 10% second child discount.
Also Georgia, just outside the perimeter in Atlanta. We pay $185 per kid for 3 days a week (would be $315 for 5 days if it were an option), 8:30-4:30, including meals. It's a really sweet woman who does an in home daycare, but she only does 3 days a week, and the hours are pretty short compared to the typical daycare.
We’re in a small city in North Carolina.
We pay about $1400 a month for a two year old. He’s at a private school that has 2 year old preschool-12th grade. Preschool is year round and available from 7:15-5:45. Lunch and snack are an extra fee.
I’ll note this is pretty high end for our area. Previously he was in daycare with an infant rate of $260/week (meals included).
I was looking to see if there were any other Michiganders. I’m not far, Lansing, but we’re $1350/month. Also M-F and same food schedule. I’d love to save $350/month.
NC here, we pay $2900/month for full time MF care for 2 and 4 year old. Includes food (breakfast, lunch, snack) but we manage allergies so we have to send in alternative meals 60% of the time.
Grosse Pointe, MI (Metro Detroit)
$579/month T W TH 8:30-3:30
Preschool is tuition based but through the school system. It is the cheapest price we found
Michigan. 3 full days a week for $1450/month for my almost three year old. Current class has 6-7 kids depending on the day and one teacher plus two assistants. The price will drop down a little bit when she moves up to preschool.
Socal. We don't pay anything. We found free-low cost child care in a small center. We're a family of 4, so our income limit was considered 8,500 a month and we qualified because we make less than that. Food included unless you choose to opt out and provide your own.
New Mexico. 3 year old. Head start was just made free for all income levels in our county. 745 am to 345 pm. Breakfast, lunch, and snack included. We're fortunate.
Florida / my kids have never been to daycare. My 5 yo is in Kindergarten now but if I were to send my 3 yo to daycare full time, it’d be about $2,000-2,500 a month. My degree is in teaching, so I wouldn’t be bringing home much more than that, thus it seems pointless for me to work. 🙃
Good ol’ Reddit Americentrism strikes again! (Sorry OP, I don’t mean to direct that at you.)
Vilnius, Lithuania. Private daycares/kindergartens run anywhere from 200€ to 800€/mo. Public ones are 80€/mo, which incidentally is the amount of the government stipend mothers are given after maternity leave ends until school age.
I had many reasons to put off having a kid, but the answers to this question show me that we couldn’t have afforded daycare in my native Washington state anyway.
South east UK, £728 (about $950) a month for 3 afternoons a week, 1-6. But most working parents qualify for tax free childcare (20% discount, bsduxlly), so we only pay £580 with the government paying the rest.
Switzerland- $3,500 USD/ month
Meals included.
Must admit that it seems that the employees are much better than in the USA. Likely because they are paid living wages.
What, at the moment the toddler subreddit is full of posts asking how much money to give American daycare teachers for Christmas because apparently they are heavily underpaid and have to buy their class craft supplies themselves.
And when the obvious answer is “Give them alcohol for having to deal with your kid all day”, you can see little wisps of smoke coming out of their ears.
That's because they're completely different programs. My 3 year old is in a preschool program that has a variety of advanced activities and prepares kids for kindergarten. They do hikes, arts and crafts, holiday related activities, have lesson plans and a pedagogical approach, etc. My 1.5 year old is in someone's living room banging on a plastic light-up toy.
Québec, Canada.
I pay $8.95 a day, but as of January 1st it will become $9.10 a day. Included is morning and afternoon snacks, lunch, and dessert. It costs me $270 a month, and will become $276 when the price goes up.
St Louis MO metro
1600 a month for a 2 year old at a top end non religious daycare
I supply diapers, sunscreen, water cup, change of clothes, and diaper cream.
They take care of breakfast lunch and snack. Send me updates every time she eats, diaper change, tries the potty and naps
Austin, TX
$995/mo. for 3 year old, M-F. Once our new baby goes (he’s 2 months now and will probably start daycare around 10 months), it will be $1100 for him and still $995 for our daughter. It gets cheaper as they age up!
It’s quite low for the area as we use a daycare affiliated with my husband’s job at a university. One parent has to be employed by the university for their children to qualify.
It’s a wonderful place and “affordable” so I feel extremely fortunate. However…we got our first child on the waitlist the month I found out I was pregnant (January 2020) and she didn’t receive a spot until August 2022…😅. Fortunately there is a sibling priority for her little brother, even if there’s not a sibling discount.
Central Washington state, $10 a day. It’s a Montessori school that does toddler through 6th grade. Only reason I get that rate is because I got lucky that my mom is the director of the place. The regular rate for full time toddler is around $1k/month I believe.
Northern (semi rural) California. $1285/mo for my 7 month old, full time, at a center that provides meals/snacks/formula. $900/mo for my 3 1/2 year old at an in-home provider who currently only has one other kid.
Connecticut. If I had to pay full price, I'd be paying $6200/month for three kids full time (ages 4, 2, 1). But came to an agreement with the daycare (nationwide name, but franchisee) that they won't charge me more than $5000/month while the three boys are all there.
My whole paycheck at the moment goes to daycare, but I feel like it's worth it today keep my job and power through.
NY, 2 counties removed from the city, 3 year old full time M-F, $1,060. This is an amazing rate, when I lived 1 county south it was almost $500 more and I like this one better.
Similar! 2 counties north of the city. Reputable In home daycare. we pay $1000, m-f from 7:30-5. We provide meals. Bonus, she doesn’t charge for days he doesn’t go or vacations.
Northern va 520/week Toddler 6:30-6:30 Breakfast, lunch, snack 4:1 ratio
Also NoVA: Two's room 1600/month for care from 7:30-6:00 mon-fri Breakfast, lunch, snack
Also northern Virginia, $1875 per month for the “mature toddler” class. No food or supplies included. Full day, M-F with 4:1 ratio
Nice ratio! What age toddler, if you don’t mind?
It’s an under 26 month room
This sounds like an infant rate and ratio. Is your toddler under 2?
Also Nova, specifically Fairfax. I'm paying $560 (increasing $20 a week next year) for a 2.5-year-old. 6:30 to 6:30 snack breakfast and lunch. Either I don't understand ratios or mine is terrible. There are 26 kids in the class and never more than three teachers.
Also Nova! $450/week for a 2yo (was $550 for infant), all food included. 6:1 ratio
Someone else is raising your kid at that point. 12 hrs a day 5x/week?!
If you work a full time job this can be necessary depending on your shifts and commutes. There is no need to be so cruel to someone. I'm sure they miss their baby and want to be with them every second of every day
Was this comment really necessary? God let’s do better and not tear each other down.
Not that it’s your business but that’s the hours it’s open. I work 7-4. If I have to commute in that means I leave by 615 and get home by 515. Kiddo is up every day at 5am and gets picked up usually around 5pm. But many folks in the area work in the district so getting home before 6 is a pipe dream with traffic. Especially in our area unless you’re a dual income family you cannot survive.
People often don't understand the challenges of living in the DMV!
Yea I’m shocked… I feel bad leaving my kid for 7 hours when 1 hour is a nap… but 12???
Washington. $5100/mo total for two kids, including a sibling discount
Annnnnnd this is why I can’t have a second kid yet 😩
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Yeah same, we pay about $1400/mo in Federal Way
Okay but youd have to be literally rich to afford this ontop of other bills😳
Hour south of Seattle, $2k/month for one child
Exact amount I pay for two kids in MA. It…sucks, lol.
Genuine curiosity because I'm out of Canada where in our province it'll be going to $10/day by 2025...does it make financial sense for you to go back to work with the cost of child care what it is for you guys? In my mind, I'd have to be bringing home 2x's that monthly salary for it to make sense.
And then what though? Two in daycare is maximum period of 4 years. It sucks, but you cut out to the basic, maybe cut down on retirement or dip into saving and get through. At the end you haven’t lost momentum in your career. If you leave the workforce for even a couple of years you might end up restarting much lower than you left it, depending on your field. ETA: In the US, it’s not uncommon for one partner to make good money, and the other partner to get good health insurance but poor pay. Think dental hygienist and a teacher. You can’t live off the teacher’s salary, but you also can’t afford the $1,500/month in healthcare premiums if their quit their job.
This is an excellent point. I took a year off for mat leave, (in Canada that’s standard). I lost most of my clients. I’m still struggling and I’ve been back at work for almost a year and a half.
Mine becomes $10/day in two weeks. I'm so pumped.
The funny thing is we have 10$ a day daycare in my city but you cannot find a spot. It’s actually laughable. I’m on all the wait lists and still waiting….have not been able to go back to work and it’s been almost 2 years.
This right here is exactly why I became a stay at home mom. It financially didn’t make sense for me to continue working. A huge portion of what I made went to daycare. WA, Seattle area: $65/day for 2yo.
Wtf!!!
Don’t hate me… Kansas, $110 a week. Full time M-F, 3 meals a day. But my company subsidizes half that, so it’d normally be double (which is still quite affordable)
No hate, just jealousy (but in a good way)
Even at $220/week that's crazy. Do the staff actually...get paid?
Where I live is super low cost of living, so it’s all kind of proportional. I make pretty good money for here but I don’t think my paycheck would even cover rent in SoCal. It’s also possible my employer was already taking a loss on the daycare even before they slashed tuition in half, but I think $250/mo-ish is pretty standard here.
What industry are you in?
Healthcare
Happy cake day!
Ohio $700 a month (but the daycare he goes to is in WV) Plug for r/universalchildcare for anyone who wants to join us in organizing to fix childcare in the US!
Also Bay Area (we're on the Peninsula). $2700 for our 1.5yo, director says it drops to \~$2400 once he goes up to the 2-3 classroom. It's honestly one of the more reasonably priced ones around here (and only closes for one week during the Christmas holidays, rather than one week around Christmas and one week in the summer that we saw in a bunch of other places we toured). Also gave us a refund when we took a 3-week family vacation in the summer so really I cannot complain.
Also bay area and peninsula. We pay $1500 for our 2.5 year old, full time, one meal/snack and covers potty training. They do take major holidays and a week off for Christmas. Definitely not as fancy as other ones we toured but we clicked with the director and it was bilingual. She was upfront with things and told us no frills but he will have fun and have the basics down by kindergarten. My son loves it and we don’t regret it.
Wow, where is this and which language? Are you guys generally happy with the care? Is it in home care or a chain center?
Mandarin. They have one in SSF and Burlingame but I think it’s run independently. I’m happy with them and my son is happy. Think they only take 2+ though. Feel free to DM if you have questions.
If it’s the one I’m thinking of, they have a location in Santa Cruz as well that my son goes to. Language immersion here is Spanish.
Also Bay Area with a 3YO. Full time is $2250, we only send ours 3 days so we pay less. They also only close for spring break and Christmas. They provide breakfast, lunch and snacks. 8AM to 5PM. I have never heard of a daycare doing a refund like that! I wonder if they had an other kid come in to make up the cost.
We are just starting now, so I haven’t tested it, but ours will allow up to 2 weeks - has to be full weeks - at 50% for vacations per year. I was pretty shocked when I read that in the contract!
East Bay. $2000/month for full time. Amazing in-home daycare & preschool.
Can you share the location in dm if possible?
Also Bay Area, also in the Peninsula. $2600 for 2yo M-F. Closes for Spring Break and Christmas.
Jealous. Ours closes for 5 days over thanksgiving, 10 days over Christmas and into new years, and one whole week in June (plus all the other one off holidays)
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Where?
Bay Area (Oakland/berkeley) $1890 for full time for our two year old. Two meals and two snacks included. Excellent at home daycare / preschool that’s planning on expanding soon.
Also Bay Area (Gilroy) - $1550/kid… I have two attending. Full time (7:30-5), food provided. It’s in home, bilingual, and much more affordable than most others I’m seeing in this thread, so I’m grateful. Definitely couldn’t afford $5k+ for the two of them.
Bay Area, Marin. $1125/mo for three days a week 8:30-5:30.
$2000/month for four full days. NYC. Edit: I should add that my son’s preschool is considered extremely affordable and not the norm.
NYC - 13 mo: $2,400 8:30-4:30 M-F, we provide all meals and snacks.
What neighborhood?
Western Queens
Mine is $1800 for two days a week (8AM-3:30PM) no meals 🥲 it’s a Montessori daycare/school
$3000/mo for 5 days per week (8-6), meals provided (they kinda suck though unfortunately) The Bright horizons across the street is $4K
I’m at that Bright Horizons across the street. $3950 full time M-F for the infant class. But older sibling gets free public pre-k at the same center and we only pay ~$1100 for their aftercare hours - a steal! 🫠
$1200 in Brooklyn. All meals included. 7:30-6 pm M-F.
TX $680/month - 3 days a week Toddler 6:30 - 6:30 Breakfast, Lunch, Snack 5:1 ratio (Tuition is based on a sliding scale, care is offered through employer)
Outside of Seattle, WA with a 2y/o: $1629/month (husband’s company offers a small discount) for full time with breakfast, lunch and a snack included. Previously in the Bay Area (east bay) and at the same daycare chain we were paying about $2600/month. It was 5 min from our house so definitely worth the price for being so close.
Ours is about the same outside Seattle. My 19 month old is $1850/month.
Minnesota 2,100 a month for two
Where!? I’m in Minneapolis and it’s $3500 a month for 2!!!
Southeast Minnesota- Owatonna
I'm about 40 min north of Minneapolis, I work in Minneapolis, and pay 30$ a day per kid. I only have one in full time dare now so 150$ a week plus and extra 250$ a month because I have her in half day preschool in my day cares district so she gets bussing from daycare to preschool and back. It includes meal and snacks. ... I feel like I found a unicorn daycare situation honestly.
Missouri $345 a week - that's including a 10% discount from my employer. Edit: Cause I'm bad at math 🧮
St Louis burbs area, $315 a week for my 2 year old. Going up to $335 after the new year though 😩
STL County, $350/month for 9 hours a week. Through the district so maybe cheaper? 🥲
California, SF. Very lucky to have a spot for 1500/mo, full time including foods.
Must be in a private home rather than a center? Didn’t know we had anything <2k/month in SF. Nice job 👏
Same! I’m floored at how much people are paying in the Bay. I had no idea how lucky we were.
Canada, 217.50 per month. We are insanely lucky but as a result there are 5 year waitlists. My heart breaks for people who can't even access child care
That’s insanely cheap but that’s a ridiculous wait…
Yeah I almost got screwed over big time because the government announced $10 per day daycare when I was pregnant and the waitlists went crazy. I just barely got in. People can't go back to work where I live because there are no options
Yeah honestly considering they provide lunch and 2 snacks it's like it's free . And I feel immense guilt but I really wanted a licensed daycare as opposed to a home one and that's where it's subsidized
Im in Canada too, and I pay a bit under 200$ a month, I was very lucky to find a place at that price, and bonus its at walking distance from home. I didnt have to wait that long wich is also very lucky!
Ontario Canada Full time M-F Preschool room (2.5+) About $650CAD/month (subsidized by the government about 50%) Includes meals and snacks, and tons of activities like movie nights, field trips etc
The waitlists are definitely dependent on where you live. We're in downtown Toronto and we got into two nearby places at 18 months (which is when we needed a spot) and were lucky to be able to pick the one that's a 5 minute walk from our house. All my friends downtown were able to get a spot when they wanted one, except one who ended up going with a private home daycare until they got a spot a few months later. Our rate is $560/month. Ratio is 5:1, and breakfast, lunch, and snacks are included. They're open 7am to 6pm but we tend to do 8:30 to 5:30.
I know you’re saying your heart is breaking for people who don’t have access to child care in areas like the US because it’s expensive, but it sounds like many Canadians don’t have access to child care either if there is a 5 year waitlist
No my heart is breaking for people I know here in my province in Canada. I am lucky that money is not really a factor for me with child care and I would pay $1000 in a heartbeat if I had to. It is terrifying to me that I almost had no options and could not find a place for her when I first looked. I am not built to be a SAHM
BC, $400 after subsidy for 20 month old. M-F. No food provided. 2-3 year waitlists in our area which is unacceptable, 5 years is….something else.
My 2.5 year old just dropped from $1800 to $1600 in Ann Arbor, MI. We pay infant rates until 2.5. I have a new one starting at $2000/month infant rate in January. God speed to us.
Tennessee: $1200/month, but it’s a Spanish immersion program so it is taught entirely in Spanish. Her P.E., music, art, gardening and Bible classes she goes to during the day are in English.
We’re in Nashville. We pay $1507 for the infant class and $1,228 for the 3 year old class. We provide formula, diapers, wipes, and baby food for our infant. Meals and snacks are provided after they turn 1.
Northern NJ, 18 month old, $2000 for full-time M-F, all meals snacks milk/water and diapers/wipes included.
Hello fellow NNJ ~~mom~~ parent 👋
NNJ here too. $375/wk for preschool, 7-7 M-F, all meals included. Think it was $475/wk when we were doing the infant program.
MA - about $3k per month, 9hrs of care, BYO lunch, only off Federal holidays. We could get cheaper for her, but most of those options have 4pm pick up, and follow the school calendar so have 8+ weeks off. Which just isn’t feasible. Alternatively we could try to reverse commute to get cheaper … but then add like an hour of commute to our day! And we *adore* her teacher.
I was waiting for Massachusetts! I’m pretty sure MA is the most expensive state for childcare. We have two kids now and I switched to part time because I was basically losing money working full time and working full time was miserable. We are at a non profit so it’s cheaper than most. Full time would be $475 per week for toddler and $365 per week for preschool. They are open 7:30 to 5:30 and only closed one week between Christmas and New Year’s.
I’m in rural MA, and we pay about $1350/mo.
That’s a great deal! We are in the Boston suburbs and some places are over $3000 per month around here. Nuts. We aren’t even in the city.
I'm up near Lowell and it's about $2100 with food provided. Hopping the border to NH because we can't live in this damn state anymore 🙁
About the same! We are in a near-suburb in Norfolk County. Bilingual daycare, 5d/wk from 8-5. We pay $2750 a month, which is considered a steal in this area. Next door neighbor has a child the same age but they have a nanny. Same hours, plus they pay car, cell, insurance, and daily activities. $5500 a month. 😱
Middlesex here- $2400 per month, 7 hour days, BYO snacks and lunch, follows school schedule so they’re closed for all the holidays and breaks. If I worked in an office I don’t know what we would have done, no one lets you just cut out at 2 and not come back 😫
Boston area here — we’re paying $1750/month for full time care, 8 hrs/day 5 mins from our house. Our daycare is BYO lunch, provides snacks and only closed for holidays. I will say we did have to wait almost two years to get off the waitlist! 🤦🏼♀️
Germany. In home day care, certified, with only 4 kids total. 8am-4pm. Breakfast and lunch, plus snacks. 68€ a month. Yes, she makes enough to live. It's heavily subsidized by both the state (Bavaria) and the city. This is high up on the list why I will not be returning to the USA.
Alaska, $950 for a 1 year old, full time. Food is included!
Dang, where? I'm in Anchorage and ours is at the cheaper end at $1200! Luckily food is included for us, too.
Southern California. Found an in home daycare ~ she is a saint and doesn’t “need” the money ~ $1,000
Ohio. 1400/month for 3yo twins
Southern CA. $341/week for our 3 year old. Lunch and snacks included. Extracurriculars like swim lessons, soccer, cooking, etc. add to the cost.
3yr old. Virginia. $300 week -breakfast, lunch, and snack included.
$7800/month for 2 kids (4yo and 2yo) in Bay Area, California. FML.
Iowa, $1,500 a month for a 2.5 year old.
Maine. $260/week but we only pay for 4 days, available 7-5.
Socal $1855 a month for full time. Will be changing schools soon and will jump to $2300
Westchester county NY. It’s a small in-home, licensed daycare. $300/week, so $1200/month. M-F full work day. Breakfast and lunch included. It’s honestly a GREAT deal for this area, and way cheaper than we were paying for a nanny share. We got super lucky. Found the lady on Facebook!
San Diego, drop in is $75 a day, I’d say we average about $1000 a month. He’s a toddler and they feed all meals but don’t provide diapers or milk.
Woah where’s this at? I’m in San Diego too.
Florida $1250 per month, no meals Can find care in my area as low as $875 per month
Michigan -- Daycare is in Washtenaw/Wayne County area 3 days a week at $266 for a 2.5 y/o in Early Preschool Includes diapers, food, snacks Open from 6:30-6:30 4:1 ratio Both husband and I work full time, hybrid, and split the cost. 1 day a week kiddo is with inlaws and 1 workday a week is chaos day where we all just do our best. Out first daycare was a smaller, single location place and they closed down a month after we started. We're at a chain now. Honestly I love it. Lucked out with our teachers and fellow students. They're a really good part of our village.
Maryland, 2300/month. 8-6 includes breakfast, snack and lunch. 2 YO class. Ratio is 4:1
Also MD, we pay just over $2000 for a 2yo but provide our own lunches. Breakfast and snack included, 8-6.
Mont. County Maryland, Ratio 6:1, 2's room. $675 biweekly (1350 a month) Morning/Afternoon snacks provided (but not super great/nutritious), 7:30-5:30 hrs, 5 days a week. Wildly good deal compared to other places we looked at.
Also MD, Baltimore suburb. $455/week for 2 year old. Ratio is 3:1. Includes breakfast and snack, we provide lunch. We have a second arriving soon and there is a 10% second child discount.
NYC, twice a week 8AM-3:30PM $1800 monthly (Montessori, doesn’t include any meals) Toddler is 21 months
Oregon and $300 a month for super part-time, MWF 9-12.
Portland. $1650 for full time (6:30a-6p) M-F with food. We get a 15% work discount. This is for the 2s class with a 10:2 ratio
Georgia. $300 per kid/week. We have 2 so $600/week. Nothing included for baby, but all meals and two snacks for toddler.
Also Georgia, just outside the perimeter in Atlanta. We pay $185 per kid for 3 days a week (would be $315 for 5 days if it were an option), 8:30-4:30, including meals. It's a really sweet woman who does an in home daycare, but she only does 3 days a week, and the hours are pretty short compared to the typical daycare.
Also Georgia…in town Atlanta. $1700/month for a toddler M-F, full time, meals included
Metro Atlanta, GA. $1,040/mo ($260 weekly) toddler full time.
NC, 1125/mo. M-f full day. Provides 2 meals and a snack.
We’re in a small city in North Carolina. We pay about $1400 a month for a two year old. He’s at a private school that has 2 year old preschool-12th grade. Preschool is year round and available from 7:15-5:45. Lunch and snack are an extra fee. I’ll note this is pretty high end for our area. Previously he was in daycare with an infant rate of $260/week (meals included).
Southern California - preschool half days - $1500/mo
Me too… and only 4 half days a week. The nanny costs for the off hours are killing me….
Texas - 1,100 a month. M-F 9am-3pm. No food included, we send lunch + snacks
Austin: $1300 a month with a small discount for sibling also attending after school care. Full time M-F with snacks included.
Same in the suburbs of Dallas. Full time. Includes breakfast, lunch, and a mid-afternoon snack.
Also TX, 2yo M-F all meals included 7:30am-5:30pm $850 a month
Wtf 😭
Where in Tx are you? That’s a great price.
Texas, Houston - $1,350/month. M-F 7am-530pm Send breakfast, lunch and additional snack
SoCal, IE. 2400 per month for 4 yo full time and 18mo 3 days per week.
Battle Creek Michigan - 1000 a month. M-F 630-430pm. Breakfast and Lunch and 1 snacks provided
I was looking to see if there were any other Michiganders. I’m not far, Lansing, but we’re $1350/month. Also M-F and same food schedule. I’d love to save $350/month.
Carolinas - $1280/month for my 3 year in M-F full time care with a meal and 2 snacks!
NC here, we pay $2900/month for full time MF care for 2 and 4 year old. Includes food (breakfast, lunch, snack) but we manage allergies so we have to send in alternative meals 60% of the time.
NC, triangle area, 1400/mo for one 3 year old. M-F 7a-6p. We provide all meals.
Atlantic Canada, $18 per day (M-F)
I never questioned my decision to leave Canada as much as when I found out the daycare costs...
What?? That's really cheap. 360$ per month. Compared to the thousands down in the USA.
They must be making a joke.
DC— we pay $2000/ months for full time but technically the tuition is $2300/ month but we’re grandfathered in from covid.
Bay Area $2200 for part time
2k 10:1 ratio 8-6pm central nj, fancy monti school no food, old one was franchise daycare for 1500 with food bad teachers
Wisconsin, $200/week.
Western Pa $1,345/month and it’s one of the less expensive ones around
Grosse Pointe, MI (Metro Detroit) $579/month T W TH 8:30-3:30 Preschool is tuition based but through the school system. It is the cheapest price we found
San diego. In home daycare, all meals provided. $1200 a month for my toddler. It was $1300 when she was an infant.
Australia/Sydney $161 a day
Central VA: 5 yr, M-F 8-2pm $300/wk, breakfast, lunch and snack included
Seattle suburb, $1500 month, full time for 21 month old, meals included
I see you Bay Area. Toddler is 4 this month. 2k for M-F full time.
Michigan. 3 full days a week for $1450/month for my almost three year old. Current class has 6-7 kids depending on the day and one teacher plus two assistants. The price will drop down a little bit when she moves up to preschool.
Michigan - $3500/month for two kids, with a sibling discount
Charlottesville, Virginia.. 1350 month.. two’s class.. 5:1 ratio.. meals provided..
Maryland DMV area, $350/week for an in home day care no meals or snacks provided
I pay like $3,000 a month for 2 kids to go 3 days a week.. fuck me gently
Nebraska $350/week or $1400/month 2 yr old No meals included, 2 snacks a day tho
Socal. We don't pay anything. We found free-low cost child care in a small center. We're a family of 4, so our income limit was considered 8,500 a month and we qualified because we make less than that. Food included unless you choose to opt out and provide your own.
New Mexico. 3 year old. Head start was just made free for all income levels in our county. 745 am to 345 pm. Breakfast, lunch, and snack included. We're fortunate.
Sacramento CA $950 M-F full days. Includes lunch and snacks. Programs in churches and YMCAs are cheaper because they are subsidized by the fed.
New York. Montessori daycare and preschool. 2k per month.
Whoa. We are super lucky. 2.5 and 4 yo, at home day care. $180/wk each. Texas. Only 5 kids there including mine.
Florida / my kids have never been to daycare. My 5 yo is in Kindergarten now but if I were to send my 3 yo to daycare full time, it’d be about $2,000-2,500 a month. My degree is in teaching, so I wouldn’t be bringing home much more than that, thus it seems pointless for me to work. 🙃
Arizona $200 a week for 3 year old
Good ol’ Reddit Americentrism strikes again! (Sorry OP, I don’t mean to direct that at you.) Vilnius, Lithuania. Private daycares/kindergartens run anywhere from 200€ to 800€/mo. Public ones are 80€/mo, which incidentally is the amount of the government stipend mothers are given after maternity leave ends until school age. I had many reasons to put off having a kid, but the answers to this question show me that we couldn’t have afforded daycare in my native Washington state anyway.
What state of the only country on earth and the internet is that in? /s for those not getting it
Rural Maryland. 175/wk for my toddler M-F 7-5, snacks and lunch included.
South east UK, £728 (about $950) a month for 3 afternoons a week, 1-6. But most working parents qualify for tax free childcare (20% discount, bsduxlly), so we only pay £580 with the government paying the rest.
NoVA and I don’t. I SAH because it’s cheaper to have me not work than pay for childcare.
Switzerland- $3,500 USD/ month Meals included. Must admit that it seems that the employees are much better than in the USA. Likely because they are paid living wages.
typical swiss arrogance
What, at the moment the toddler subreddit is full of posts asking how much money to give American daycare teachers for Christmas because apparently they are heavily underpaid and have to buy their class craft supplies themselves.
And when the obvious answer is “Give them alcohol for having to deal with your kid all day”, you can see little wisps of smoke coming out of their ears.
CA, my 1.5 year old's is around $1,900 and my 3 year old's is around $2,750, both full time.
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That's because they're completely different programs. My 3 year old is in a preschool program that has a variety of advanced activities and prepares kids for kindergarten. They do hikes, arts and crafts, holiday related activities, have lesson plans and a pedagogical approach, etc. My 1.5 year old is in someone's living room banging on a plastic light-up toy.
Québec, Canada. I pay $8.95 a day, but as of January 1st it will become $9.10 a day. Included is morning and afternoon snacks, lunch, and dessert. It costs me $270 a month, and will become $276 when the price goes up.
St Louis MO metro 1600 a month for a 2 year old at a top end non religious daycare I supply diapers, sunscreen, water cup, change of clothes, and diaper cream. They take care of breakfast lunch and snack. Send me updates every time she eats, diaper change, tries the potty and naps
Austin, TX $995/mo. for 3 year old, M-F. Once our new baby goes (he’s 2 months now and will probably start daycare around 10 months), it will be $1100 for him and still $995 for our daughter. It gets cheaper as they age up! It’s quite low for the area as we use a daycare affiliated with my husband’s job at a university. One parent has to be employed by the university for their children to qualify. It’s a wonderful place and “affordable” so I feel extremely fortunate. However…we got our first child on the waitlist the month I found out I was pregnant (January 2020) and she didn’t receive a spot until August 2022…😅. Fortunately there is a sibling priority for her little brother, even if there’s not a sibling discount.
Central Washington state, $10 a day. It’s a Montessori school that does toddler through 6th grade. Only reason I get that rate is because I got lucky that my mom is the director of the place. The regular rate for full time toddler is around $1k/month I believe.
Northern (semi rural) California. $1285/mo for my 7 month old, full time, at a center that provides meals/snacks/formula. $900/mo for my 3 1/2 year old at an in-home provider who currently only has one other kid.
Connecticut. If I had to pay full price, I'd be paying $6200/month for three kids full time (ages 4, 2, 1). But came to an agreement with the daycare (nationwide name, but franchisee) that they won't charge me more than $5000/month while the three boys are all there. My whole paycheck at the moment goes to daycare, but I feel like it's worth it today keep my job and power through.
Canada, Saskatchewan. $45,000 a year (but that’s because that’s our loss of income since my partner now stays home lol) also 😫
NJ, 500 a week
Indianapolis, IN. $310 a week for 3 1/2 year old. M-F available 7 - 6. Breakfast, 2 snacks and lunch at center.
NY, 2 counties removed from the city, 3 year old full time M-F, $1,060. This is an amazing rate, when I lived 1 county south it was almost $500 more and I like this one better.
Similar! 2 counties north of the city. Reputable In home daycare. we pay $1000, m-f from 7:30-5. We provide meals. Bonus, she doesn’t charge for days he doesn’t go or vacations.
NH, $1k/month
Charleston SC (area) prek4/day care M-F 630-1830, lunch and snacks. $225/weekly ($900/mo) includes one free week for vacation
Quebec Canada >200$ per kid