Deciding to have a child is arguably the biggest decision a person makes in her life. With parenthood comes a profound responsibility that ranges from protecting to educating. While countless joys accompany parenting, there are costs too—and they take effect even before birth.
Child care is an incredibly common expense for American families. According to a 2015 report published by ChildCare Aware of America, an advocacy group supporting access to high-quality child care, 11 million children under the age of 5 are in child care for an average of 36 hours per week in the United States. Though the arrangement can vary from in-home care to the aid of grandparents and neighbors, 35 percent of children receive center-based care at child care centers, preschools and Head Start programs.
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The team at Credio wanted to see how child care costs vary for families in every U.S. state. To do this, they analyzed data from ChildCare Aware of America’s “Parents and the High Cost of Child Care” report—which details the cost of full-time child care in centers—along with 2014 median household income from the U.S. Census Bureau, which includes income generated by all members of a household.
Depending on the state, the percentage of median household income spent on child care for two children annually ranged greatly, from below 20 percent to north of 45 percent. We ranked the 50 U.S. states by this metric, and included the percent of median household income for one child, the average cost of care for two children, as well as the cost of one and the median household income for each state.
#50. South Dakota
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 19.73% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $10,465 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 10.67% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $5,661 Median Household Income: $53,053
#49. Wyoming
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 22.22% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $12,374 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 11.75% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $6,541 Median Household Income: $55,690
#48. Tennessee
#47. Utah
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 24.06% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $15,253 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 13.63% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $8,641 Median Household Income: $63,383
#46. Arkansas
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 24.46% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $10,990 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 13.35% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $5,995 Median Household Income: $44,922
#45. Hawaii
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 24.70% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $17,592 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 11.63% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $8,280 Median Household Income: $71,223
#44. South Carolina
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 24.76% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $11,126 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 14.41% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $6,475 Median Household Income: $44,929
#43. Mississippi
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 24.83% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $8,819 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 13.58% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $4,822 Median Household Income: $35,521
#42. Alabama
#41. Louisiana
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 25.14% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $10,661 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 13.55% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $5,747 Median Household Income: $42,406
#40. Oklahoma
#39. North Dakota
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 25.90% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $15,728 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 13.53% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $8,217 Median Household Income: $60,730
#38. Nebraska
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 25.97% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $14,769 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 13.94% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $7,926 Median Household Income: $56,870
#37. Idaho
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 26.43% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $14,124 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 13.47% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $7,200 Median Household Income: $53,438
#36. Alaska
#35. Kentucky
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 27.56% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $11,793 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 14.71% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $6,294 Median Household Income: $42,786
#34. Virginia
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 27.84% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $18,415 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 15.81% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $10,458 Median Household Income: $66,155
#33. Georgia
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 28.54% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $14,144 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 15.43% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $7,644 Median Household Income: $49,555
#32. Texas
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 28.75% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $15,489 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 16.26% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $8,759 Median Household Income: $53,875
#31. New Hampshire
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 28.98% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $21,267 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 16.09% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $11,810 Median Household Income: $73,397
#30. Maryland
#29. Iowa
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 30.62% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $17,701 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 16.41% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $9,485 Median Household Income: $57,810
#28. Maine
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 31.68% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $16,381 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 18.39% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $9,512 Median Household Income: $51,710
#27. Missouri
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 31.68% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $17,940 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 15.24% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $8,632 Median Household Income: $56,630
#26. Michigan
#25. New Mexico
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 32.22% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $15,040 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 17.01% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $7,942 Median Household Income: $46,686
#24. New Jersey
#23. Indiana
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 32.62% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $15,678 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 18.56% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $8,918 Median Household Income: $48,060
#22. Ohio
#21. California
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 33.14% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $20,048 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 19.54% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $11,817 Median Household Income: $60,487
#20. Montana
#19. Delaware
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 33.50% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $19,268 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 19.12% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $11,000 Median Household Income: $57,522
#18. Pennsylvania
#17. Oregon
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 34.16% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $20,109 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 19.23% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $11,322 Median Household Income: $58,875
#16. Arizona
#15. West Virginia
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 34.74% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $13,739 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 20.04% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $7,926 Median Household Income: $39,552
#14. Vermont
#13. Florida
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 35.46% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $16,362 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 18.84% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $8,694 Median Household Income: $46,140
#12. Kansas
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 35.84% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $19,152 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 20.96% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $11,201 Median Household Income: $53,444
#11. North Carolina
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 36.01% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $16,847 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 19.78% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $9,255 Median Household Income: $46,784
#10. Nevada
#9. Connecticut
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 36.18% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $25,382 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 19.78% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $13,880 Median Household Income: $70,161
#8. Wisconsin
#7. Washington
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 37.79% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $22,321 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 21.56% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $12,733 Median Household Income: $59,068
#6. Colorado
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 37.80% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $23,036 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 21.59% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $13,154 Median Household Income: $60,940
#5. Minnesota
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 37.90% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $25,485 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 21.36% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $14,366 Median Household Income: $67,244
#4. Rhode Island
#3. Illinois
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 41.03% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $22,531 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 23.61% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $12,964 Median Household Income: $54,916
#2. Massachusetts
#1. New York
Percent of Median Household Income for Two Children: 47.59% Cost of Child Care for One Infant and One 4 Year Old: $25,844 Percent of Median Household Income for One Child: 26.04% Cost of Child Care for One Infant: $14,144 Median Household Income: $54,310
Originally posted on April 15, 2016 by Christina Lavingia via Graphiq Newsdesk Compare Savings Products on Credio