Annual Care.com Report Reveals Rising Childcare Costs Deplete the Incomes and Savings of American Families

Care.com’s 2024 Cost of Care Report, released today, found that on average, parents who responded spend 24% of their household income on childcare with nearly half (47%) spending more than $18,000 in 2023. While this represents a slight drop from 27% in last year’s report, it remains more than three times the 7% deemed affordable by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Additionally, and meaningfully, household income is not the only source of funding parents are using to pay for childcare. More than one-third (35%) of respondents are dipping into their savings, on average exhausting a staggering 42% of their savings in 2023, leaving them with little financial flexibility.

The 11th annual report, which comprises survey results of 2,000 parent respondents, also provides some of the first public data on the impact of the childcare cliff, which marked the expiration of pandemic-related federal subsidies for childcare in September 2023. The findings reveal that nearly 40% of respondents (39%) are already paying more because their care provider has been impacted by the loss of funds. Additionally, nearly 80% of respondents (79%) anticipate being impacted by the childcare cliff in 2024 with 54% of those concerned expecting their childcare expenses to increase by more than $7,000 this year as a result.

With financial pressure continuing to mount on parents while the availability of childcare shrinks, it is not surprising that childcare is a top priority for parents in the upcoming Presidential Election, with an overwhelming 88% of respondents saying a political candidate’s position on childcare access and affordability will influence their vote.

“Within the first five years of their child’s life, parents are being forced into a financial hole that is nearly impossible to climb out of,” said Brad Wilson, CEO of Care.com. “A healthy economy depends upon the ability for people to save and spend, but given the crushing weight of childcare costs, those pillars are crumbling. The childcare crisis should be a major red flag for everyone, not just parents. It is a systemic failure that will impact our nation’s economic growth, and that affects us all.”

Highlights from the 2024 Cost of Care Report:

Care.com National Average Weekly Rates in 2023*

• Weekly nanny cost: $766 (up 4% from $736 in 2022).
• Weekly daycare cost: $321 (up 13% from $284 in 2022).
• Weekly family care center cost: $230 (up 0.4% from $229 in 2022).
• Weekly babysitter cost: $192 (up 7% from $179 in 2022).

* Infant rates except for babysitter, which is not age limited. Rates for toddlers, after school sitters, as well as multiple children, can be found within the report.