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Why is Child Care So Expensive? What We Can Do About It.

By Rebecca Gale & Dianne Kirsch | May 1, 2024

By Rebecca Gale & Dianne Kirsch

May 1, 2024

Cover: Why is Child Care So Expensive and What Can We Do About It?

A couple wonders why child care is in high demand and so expensive while discussing on the couch. A family should only spend 7 percent of income on child care to be considered affordable, but the number is closer to 20 percent.

In 2024 America, most children live in families where both people work, but parents need child care to work.

A man asks: can they just add an extra kid to the class? Woman says it’s not that easy because of the staffing ratios required.

What else makes child care so expensive? Many things- taxes, payroll, rent, insurance, supplies, furniture, food, licensing fees, marketing, water, toys, electricity, trash.

K-12 education is different. It is subsidized by the federal government. The investment does not exist in child care.

So what can be done? The federal government can invest in child care.

With federal investment in child care, more people can go to work. We’d have lower rates of absenteeism, more providers can be paid a living wage.

Has this been done before? Yes, and with ARPA and it worked.

The free market is never going to fix child care. We just need to find the political will to create that federal investment.

Support for this project was provided by Better Life Lab at New America.

This story originally published on Early Learning Nation and is now archived on The 74. Learn more here.

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Rebecca Gale is a writer with the Better Life Lab at New America where she covers child care, and is also the author of It Doesn’t Have to Be This Hard, a newsletter on caregiving writing and reporting.

Dianne Kirsch is graphic designer, specializing in brand identity, art direction, print collateral, books, annual reports and website design.

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                <h1>Why is Child Care So Expensive? What We Can Do About It.</h1>

                <h2></h2>

                <p class="sans">By <a rel="author" href="https://www.the74million.org/contributor/rebecca-gale/">Rebecca Gale</a> & <a rel="author" href="https://www.the74million.org/contributor/dianne-kirsch/">Dianne  Kirsch</a></p>

                <img src="https://www.the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_01-scaled.jpeg">

                <p>This story first appeared at <a href="https://www.the74million.org">The 74</a>, a nonprofit news site covering education. <a href="https://www.the74million.org/about/newsletters/?utm_source=republish-button&utm_medium=website&utm_campaign=republish">Sign up for free newsletters from The 74</a> to get more like this in your inbox.</p>
                
<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_01-scaled.jpeg"><img decoding="async" src="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_01-scaled.jpeg" alt="Cover: Why is Child Care So Expensive and What Can We Do About It?" class="wp-image-9448"/></a></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_02-scaled.jpeg"><img decoding="async" src="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_02-scaled.jpeg" alt="A couple wonders why child care is in high demand and so expensive while discussing on the couch. A family should only spend 7 percent of income on child care to be considered affordable, but the number is closer to 20 percent. " class="wp-image-9449"/></a></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_03-scaled.jpeg"><img decoding="async" src="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_03-scaled.jpeg" alt="In 2024 America, most children live in families where both people work, but parents need child care to work. " class="wp-image-9450"/></a></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_04-scaled.jpeg"><img decoding="async" src="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_04-scaled.jpeg" alt="A man asks: can they just add an extra kid to the class? Woman says it’s not that easy because of the staffing ratios required. " class="wp-image-9451"/></a></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_05-scaled.jpeg"><img decoding="async" src="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_05-scaled.jpeg" alt="What else makes child care so expensive? Many things- taxes, payroll, rent, insurance, supplies, furniture, food, licensing fees, marketing, water, toys, electricity, trash. " class="wp-image-9452"/></a></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_06-scaled.jpeg"><img decoding="async" src="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_06-scaled.jpeg" alt="K-12 education is different. It is subsidized by the federal government. The investment does not exist in child care. " class="wp-image-9453"/></a></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_07-scaled.jpeg"><img decoding="async" src="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_07-scaled.jpeg" alt="So what can be done? The federal government can invest in child care. " class="wp-image-9454"/></a></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_08-scaled.jpeg"><img decoding="async" src="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_08-scaled.jpeg" alt="With federal investment in child care, more people can go to work. We’d have lower rates of absenteeism, more providers can be paid a living wage. " class="wp-image-9455"/></a></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_09-scaled.jpeg"><img decoding="async" src="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_09-scaled.jpeg" alt="Has this been done before? Yes, and with ARPA and it worked. " class="wp-image-9456"/></a></figure>



<p></p>



<figure class="wp-block-image"><a href="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_10-1-scaled.jpeg"><img decoding="async" src="https://the74million.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/04/ChildCareEconomics_Comic_043024_Page_10-1-scaled.jpeg" alt="The free market is never going to fix child care. We just need to find the political will to create that federal investment. " class="wp-image-9459"/></a></figure>



<p></p>



<p><em>Support for this project was provided by <a href="https://www.newamerica.org/better-life-lab/">Better Life Lab at New America</a></em>.</p>

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