Kids are expensive! But you would think that while they’re tiny and immobile they wouldn’t cost quite so much, right? Well, that’s not exactly the case in Washington State. In fact, it’s the opposite.
Here are Five Fast Facts about the cost of child care in Washington State:
- 😱 Average Whopper - A new study found that the average cost per year for sending a kiddo to day care is over $14k! This is around 40% of a single parent’s median income, and over 10% of a family’s median income. How do we afford our daily Starbucks with that cost for baby bottles??
- 📈 Historical Comparison - The current cost is an increase of 220% over the last 30 years, well above the rate of inflation. And given today’s inflation, that’s really saying something.
- 🏫 Early Ed vs Late Ed - For reference, the cost of a year of college at UW is just over $12k. Lots of bottles at that end of the educational spectrum, too…just very different ones!
- 🏙️ The Big City - In Seattle, it’s even worse. Child care costs there go up to as much as $30k per year! Apparently Seattle skews the state’s data all by itself!
- 🧑⚖️ Funding In Jeopardy? - One funding source that is supposed to help boost child care programs is a new capital gains tax. It survived a state Supreme Court challenge, but could get appealed to the US Supreme Court and get overturned. Time will tell on that one!
🔥Bottom line: Child care is a tricky thing. For some, it’s helpful because the parents want to keep working; for others, it’s non-negotiable because the parents have to work. Either way, making child care more accessible and less financially painful would be beneficial for everyone.
What do you think can be done to reduce child care costs?
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