FILE-Day care workers care for kids at a center. (Photo by Anne Cusack/Los Angeles Times via Getty Images)
null - Child care expenses can add up and absorb a significant amount of a family’s income.
Bankrate, a personal finance company, released a new study revealing that child care costs are one of the biggest expenses in household budgets in the U.S., with infant care costs topping 10% of the median family income in 48 states and the District of Columbia in 2023.
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The report also compared other household expenses and noted that child care for one infant costs $14,070 on average, which is more than a household's average annual budget for food ($9,985 per year), health care ($6,159) and transportation ($13,174).
New Mexico was the state where infant care was the least affordable, accounting for 20.5% of the median family income, or roughly $13,521 in a year out of an income of $65,952, according to Bankrate's study.
What states have the least affordable child care costs?
- New Mexico, 20.5%
- Hawaii, 20.1%
- New York, 19.6%
- California, 18.7%
- Massachusetts, 18.4%
Which states have more affordable child care costs?
- South Dakota, 8.7%
- North Dakota, 9.8%
- Utah, 10.3%
- Idaho, 10.9%
- South Carolina, 11.2%
Despite those states having relatively affordable child care, Bankrate, citing a report by ReadyNation, noted that aside from North Dakota, each of the four states have higher numbers of "child care deserts" where it's challenging to find affordable child care.
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According to the study, the item that costs households more than child care on average is housing expenses, which have an average cost of $25,436 per year.