Rising cost of child care outpacing Inflation

The cost of child care continues to outpace inflation, according to a new report from ​​Child Care Aware of America.

In 2021, child care prices rose by 5% while the annual inflation rate was lower at 4.7%. This means families with children struggle to afford child care, experts say, on top of essentials such as food, housing and transportation.

“Parents continue to face the challenge of finding and affording high-quality child care,” said Lynette M. Fraga, chief executive officer of Child Care Aware of America, an advocacy group. “Recent public investments in child care have been a lifeline and helped keep programs open. But robust, long-term public support is needed to make child care affordable for families and ensure more children have access to high-quality early learning experiences to prepare them for success in school and beyond.”

Other key findings in the report include that, in most states, the price of child care for two children in a center-based program exceeds annual housing payments. Similarly, the price of child care for an infant in a center-based program exceeds annual in-state tuition at a public university in 34 states.