This statistic shows the average monthly costs of child care to a family in the United States, as of 2012. In 2012, 53 percent of respondents stated they paid between 1 and 500 U.S. dollars per month on child care.

In 2020, the annual costs for full-time care for an infant in the state of New York totaled to 22,500 U.S. dollars. Annual full-time care costs for infants in Maryland was the highest in the country in that year, coming in at 24,500 U.S. dollars.

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Tuition, Other School Fees, and Childcare in U.S. City Average (CUSR0000SEEB) from Jan 1978 to May 2025 about tuition, day care, fees, urban, consumer, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

For a couple with 2 children, where one parent earned the average wage, and the other parent earned 67 percent of the average wage. The U.S. and Ireland had the most expensive childcare among OECD countries, with net childcare costs taking up ** and ** percent of net household income, respectively.

United States - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Tuition, Other School Fees, and Childcare in U.S. City Average was 888.53600 Index 1982-84=100 in May of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Tuition, Other School Fees, and Childcare in U.S. City Average reached a record high of 888.53600 in May of 2025 and a record low of 57.50000 in January of 1978. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers: Tuition, Other School Fees, and Childcare in U.S. City Average - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

In 2022, the average expenditure on babysitting and child care services in the United States was almost 136 U.S. dollars per consumer unit. Between 2007 and 2022, the average expenditure increased by almost 55 U.S. dollars.

Source: National Database of Childcare Prices 2022, Women's Bureau, U.S. Department of Labor Note: Childcare prices are derived from each state's childcare Market Rate Survey. Prices are median yearly prices for one child at the market rate. School-age prices reflect the school-year arrangement (part day). Childcare prices are based on the 2019-2022 data collection cycle and are presented in 2022 real dollars using the CPI-U for child care (day care and preschool in the U.S. city average). NDCP data are intended to be used at the county level; caution is advised when using state averages. State averages are created by weighting county childcare price estimates by county population for counties with available childcare price data. Some states have more missing data than others which could impact the estimated state averages. As a result, state averages may not meet the higher quality standards developed for the NDCP county-level estimates. This product is experimental and may be revised as estimation methodologies improve and additional data become available.

The National Database of Childcare Prices (NDCP) provides childcare prices at the county level in the United States. The NDCP is a new data source, and the most comprehensive federal source of childcare prices at the county level in the United States. The NDCP was developed to fill a need for local-level childcare price data, standardized across U.S. states. Most existing sources of childcare price data provide prices at the state level, yet parents must choose childcare providers that are in close proximity to their homes or workplaces. Therefore, state averages are unlikely to be good estimates of the prices parents encounter in the market. State average prices do not reflect the substantial variation in prices from one locale to the next within a state and underestimate prices in urban areas.The NDCP provides data on the price of childcare by children's age groups and care setting (home-based or center-based) at the median and 75th percentile over an 15-year period (2008-2022, inclusive) at the county level. The data were obtained from state Lead Agencies responsible for conducting market rate surveys (MRS) according to Child Care and Development Fund regulations. A MRS is the collection and analysis of prices charged by childcare providers for services in the priced market. All state Lead Agencies must conduct a survey and develop a report on local childcare prices in their state every three years. The Women's Bureau contracted with ICF to obtain reports and data from previously conducted surveys to develop the NDCP. The NDCP standardizes and harmonizes data across years and geographies for about 200 previously-conducted MRS. The NDCP also provides county-level demographic and economic data from the American Community Survey.The accompanying User Guide (U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau National Database of Childcare Prices: Final Report) provides detailed information about the data sources, data collection strategy, standardization and imputation of the data, and data limitations to inform and assist researchers who may be interested in using the data for future analyses. The following items are provided in the User Guide as appendices.Appendix A: Data Collection Protocol and Decisions Made During Data Entry Process, Including State NuancesAppendix B: List of Imputations Performed for Each State and YearAppendix C: County-Level Data DictionaryAppendix D: Methods Used for Specific Demographic Variables – CountyAppendix E: State-Level Data DictionaryAppendix F: Methods Used for Specific Demographic Variables – StateAppendix G: 2008-2018 Imputations for County-Level Childcare Prices from Statewide DataAppendix H: Price Quintile Ranges for State-Level Price DatabaseAppendix I: Summary of Additional 2008-2018 Data Added as a Result of Additional In-Between Study Imputations

Graph and download economic data for Consumer Price Index for All Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers: Tuition, Other School Fees, and Childcare in U.S. City Average (CWSR0000SEEB) from Jan 1978 to May 2025 about tuition, day care, clerical workers, fees, urban, wages, CPI, inflation, price index, indexes, price, and USA.

Summary

The State of Early Education and Care in Boston: Supply, Demand, Affordability, and Quality, is the first in what is planned as a recurrent landscape survey of early childhood, preschool and childcare programs in every neighborhood of Boston. It focuses on potential supply, demand and gaps in child-care seats (availability, quality and affordability). This report’s estimates set a baseline understanding to help focus and track investments and policy changes for early childhood in the city.

This publication is a culmination of efforts by a diverse data committee representing providers, parents, funding agencies, policymakers, advocates, and researchers. The report includes data from several sources, such as American Community Survey, Massachusetts Department of Early Education and Care, Massachusetts Department of Elementary & Secondary Education, Boston Public Health Commission, City of Boston, among others. For detailed information on methodology, findings and recommendations, please access the full report here

The first dataset contains all Census data used in the publication. Data is presented by neighborhoods:

• Population 0 – 5 years;
• Population 0 – 2 years;
• Population 3 – 5 years;
• Race/ethnicity for children 0 – 4 years (White, non-Hispanic; Black; Asian; Hispanic/Latinx);
• Family type (married couples, female householder, male householder);
• Poverty status;
• Family median income in the past 12 months;
• Average cost of care as a percentage of median family income (infant, preschool);
• Share of families that cannot afford care (infant, preschool)

The Boston Planning & Development Agency Research Division analyzed 2013-2017 American Community Survey data to estimate numbers by ZIP-Code. The Boston Opportunity Agenda combined that data by the approximate neighborhoods and estimated cost of care and affordability.

Additional notes:

• Record Type: Each record represents a ZIP-Code defined neighborhood. See list below for detailed information on Boston ZIP-Codes used to create each one of the 15 neighborhoods.
• Data Quality: Numbers presented here came from 2013-2017 American Community Survey data. Therefore, these are ESTIMATES and have margin of errors. The smaller the geographical unit, the greater the margin of error. The Boston Planning & Development Agency analyzed the data to estimate numbers by ZIP-Code.
• Race/Ethnicity: Non-White Hispanics may be double counted due to data limitations.
• Cost of Care: The average cost of care as a percentage of median family income was computed assuming the annual average cost of infant care was $19,877 and the average cost of preschool care was $ 13,771 (Childcare Aware of America, 2019). For each neighborhood we estimated the impact of child care (infant and preschool) on its median annual family income.
• Affordability: The Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) sets a standard regarding the affordability of child care, where the annual cost of child care should not exceed 10 percent of household annual income. Using this 10% threshold, we estimated that to afford market rate infant care, a family’s annual income would have to be at least $198,770. The census income bracket closest to this income was a family income of $150,000– 199,999. To afford preschool care, a family's annual income should be at least $137,710. Thus, the census income bracket that encompass this income is $125,000 - 149,999. For both infant and preschool care, we underestimated the number of families that can afford care.

In 2024, the average daily cost for adult day health care services in the U.S. stood at 100 U.S. dollars. However, such costs varied greatly from one state to another. In that year, the most expensive state for adult day health care services was by far Oregon, amounting to 284 U.S. dollars a day, while in Delaware daily rates were just 35 U.S. dollars. In the most expensive states, the daily cost of adult day care actually exceeded that of assisted living facilities and sometimes even home health care. The large variation may be in part due to the source using community subsidy rates where available, thus lower rates were reported, while states with higher rates may capture the full private pay rates.

For a single parent with two children, earning the average wage, the United States had proportionately the most expensive childcare among selected countries, with net childcare costs taking up 37 percent of net household income. This figure was around nine percent in the OECD on average.

United States - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers: Tuition, Other School Fees, and Childcare in U.S. City Average was 849.87800 Index 1982-84=100 in April of 2025, according to the United States Federal Reserve. Historically, United States - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers: Tuition, Other School Fees, and Childcare in U.S. City Average reached a record high of 849.87800 in April of 2025 and a record low of 57.30000 in January of 1978. Trading Economics provides the current actual value, an historical data chart and related indicators for United States - Consumer Price Index for All Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers: Tuition, Other School Fees, and Childcare in U.S. City Average - last updated from the United States Federal Reserve on June of 2025.

This statistic shows the average monthly cost of child care centers for families in the United States in 2015, by state. In 2015, the average monthly cost of childcare in Alabama was 615.67 U.S. dollars.

This data provides historical summaries of total participation and meals served as part of the USDA's Food and Nutrition Service (FNS) School Breakfast Program. The summary data begins in 1969, the year that FNS was established to administer USDA's nutrition assistance program. The School Breakfast Program is a federally assisted meal program operating in public and nonprofit private schools and residential child care institutions. It began as a pilot project in 1966, and was made permanent in 1975. The School Breakfast Program is administered at the Federal level by the Food and Nutrition Service. At the State level, the program is usually administered by State education agencies, which operate the program through agreements with local school food authorities in more than 89,000 schools and institutions. School districts and independent schools that choose to take part in the breakfast program receive cash subsidies from the USDA for each meal they serve. In return, they must serve breakfasts that meet Federal requirements, and they must offer free or reduced price breakfasts to eligible children. Any child at a participating school may purchase a meal through the School Breakfast Program. Children from families with incomes at or below 130 percent of the Federal poverty level are eligible for free meals. Those with incomes between 130 percent and 185 percent of the poverty level are eligible for reduced-price meals. Resources in this dataset:Resource Title: School Breakfast Participation and Meals Served Data. File Name: sbsummar.xlsResource Description: Data are provided by federal fiscal year rather than calendar or school year. This includes the months of October through September. The total participation numbers for this data is based on a nine month average: October - May plus September.Resource Title: School Breakfast Participation and Meals Served Data. File Name: SchoolBreakfasts2.csvResource Description: Data are provided by federal fiscal year rather than calendar or school year. This includes the months of October through September. The total participation numbers for this data is based on a nine month average: October - May plus September. Participation and meals served numbers are counted in millions, and the free/reduced price meals is a percentage of total meals. 2] in the reduced price column indicates that these numbers were included with the free participation numbers. Resource Title: Data Dictionary. File Name: Data Dictionary_SchoolBreakfastParticipationMealsServed.csv