Here’s where child care costs at least twice as much as rent

If you think the rent is too damn high, wait until you get the bill for child care.

If you think the rent is too damn high, wait until you get the bill for child care. Parents with two kids in a child care center paid on average at least twice as much for that care as they did for the typical rent in 11 states and the District of Columbia last year, according to Child Care Aware of America’s latest annual report, released Wednesday. The states are: Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kansas, Massachusetts, Minnesota, Nebraska, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and Wisconsin. Placing two kids at a child care center cost at least 25% more than the typical rent, on average, in every state in the US. And the tab exceeded annual typical mortgage payments in 45 states, plus the District of Columbia, according to Child Care Aware. The report looked at care for an infant and 4-year-old. The report also shows that child care continues to be a major financial burden for many parents, though it has stabilized somewhat since the Covid-19 pandemic upended the industry in 2020, forcing many providers to close their doors or jack up their prices to retain their workers and maintain a safe environment. Nationwide, the average annual cost of care rose to $11,582 per child last year, up 3.7% from the prior year. It was the smallest annual increase since the pandemic began and trailed inflation. Still, it would take 10% of a married couple’s median income and 32% of a single parent’s median income to afford that national average price tag, though the cost varies widely by state and locality, according to the report. The US Department of Health and Human Services recommends that families spend no more than 7% of their annual income on child care.