The 10 states where child care costs the most right now
Married couples in some states need to set aside more than 10% of their income to afford child care
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Raising a family has never been more expensive. And in some places, those costs are out of control, with some families forced to spend close to 15% of their income on child care.
WalletHub set out to find the states where child care is the most expensive for a married couple, analyzing the prices of family-based and center-based child care and adjusting them by the median household income of each state.
“It costs a lot of money to take care of a child’s needs, and many parents are left with the dilemma of whether to forgo one salary to do their own child care for the first few years or to shell out a significant chunk of their income for child care services," said WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo.
Continue reading to see if your state made the list.
#10: Massachusetts
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- Cost of family-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income): 8.22%
- Cost of center-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income) 12.38%
#9: Colorado
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- Cost of family-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income): 8.87%
- Cost of center-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income) 11.77%
#8: Hawaii
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- Cost of family-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income): 8.15%
- Cost of center-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income) 13.46%
#7: Rhode Island
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- Cost of family-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income): 10.42%
- Cost of center-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income) 11.45%
#6: California
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- Cost of family-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income): 9.89%
- Cost of center-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income) 12.32%
#5: Vermont
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- Cost of family-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income): 9.17%
- Cost of center-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income) 13.17%
#4: Oregon
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- Cost of family-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income): 8.87%
- Cost of center-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income) 11.77%
#3: Washington
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- Cost of family-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income): 10.01%
- Cost of center-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income) 12.61%
#2: New Mexico
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- Cost of family-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income): 11.61%
- Cost of center-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income) 11.41%
#1: New York
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- Cost of family-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income): 11.03%
- Cost of center-based child care (% of median annual married-couple family income) 12.84%