Daycare Costs?

ByeBabyBunting · July 2013

I'm sure we've discussed this before, but how much to you pay weekly for daycare? Is it full time? And is it a center or in home? Even after 3 years I'm amazed at how expensive it is, and how wildly it varies from one center to another!

ByeBabyBunting · July 2013

My answer: I'm in the Boston area and pay $200 a week, but I' looking for a new center, and it ranges from about what I pay up to $400. The in home place I have found are a little less.

EDT: here are the 5 most expensive states: https://money.cnn.com/galleries/2011/pf/1109/gallery.child_care_states/index.html

cyprissa · July 2013

Our in-home cost $275 a week and our center is $325. We are in a HCOL area.

BlueRidge8 · July 2013

$145/week for our center. We're lucky because there are only two 5-star centers in town and A) we got in an

it's not outrageously expensive.
Oh, it includes all meals and snacks (and she can have organic milk) but I do pay $8/month extra for JumpBunch.

shadypines · July 2013

ItsAllGravy7 said:

Packerfan79 said:

In my area (DC metro) its 500.00+ a week at most centers AND there are wait lists everywhere.
Yup. We're in a center and daycare is more than our mortgage. Ours just got reduced slightly when B turned 3 and will go down again when C turns 2 next month but for now we pay $850 a week for both kids.

:-O

WTF?!?!?

$-)

cyprissa · July 2013

Wow! I'm in DC too and must be getting a great deal. My center is a preschool and is NAEYC accredited so it is awesome.

Packerfan79 said:

In my area (DC metro) its 500.00+ a week at most centers AND there are wait lists everywhere.

aforst · July 2013

DS2 goes to an in-home daycare, but she runs it more like a center. It's not out of her home, she has employees, licensed by the State, etc. We pay $200/week for him. She provides two meals and a snack along with diapers and wipes. The cost does not go down as he gets older, potty trains, etc. We don't get any vacation days either, we still pay even if he's not there. They also get paid holidays.

DS1 is currently at a center where they do Jr. Kindergarted (basically preschool). However, he's there all day while we are at work. We pay $192 a week for him. That includes breakfast, lunch and 2 snacks.

Right now we pay a little under $1600/month for both kids. It's more than double our mortgage. We are in a LCOL area

MrsT0514 · July 2013

ItsAllGravy7 said:

Packerfan79 said:

In my area (DC metro) its 500.00+ a week at most centers AND there are wait lists everywhere.

Yup. We're in a center and daycare is more than our mortgage. Ours just got reduced slightly when B turned 3 and will go down again when C turns 2 next month but for now we pay $850 a week for both kids.

Holy shit. Thats more than my mortgage too! My heart goes out to you and YH for having to dish out that kind of dough.

When I called around for some quotes from centers in my area, all were around 250-300 a week for full time. Between 150-200 for part time. Which is still a pretty penny.

OP, I agree, its crazy to see how much lrices vary from state to state.

boggs507 · July 2013

Suburb of chicago and I pay 300/wk for my 2y/o. It's the cheapest I found and luckily the one I liked the most.

white318 · July 2013

I pay $125.00 a week for a church run center. We were paying $175.00 per week for a bigger day care, and about the same for in-home. Some in our area are in the $200-$300 range though if you are looking for a chain or Catholic daycare. They provide breakfast, lunch and snacks

ReeseFox · July 2013

I pay $250/week at a center. I'm in Northern Virginia and this is one of the least expensive centers in my area.

seahorse102410 · July 2013

Atlanta suburbs $254 a week. Full time. Includes meals and snacks.

SpaceGirlSpiff · July 2013

My DS goes 5 days per week full time to a licensed in-home daycare....cost is $175 a week with meals included, the only thing we provide is diapers/wipes... and we live in Southern CA

Shes a TAD higher in cost than some of the other licensed in-homes we checked out, but shes a bazillion times better than them too... I love this lady, and was so lucky to find her...and her home is so nice and well taken care of with a great yard. I'd actually trust her above and beyond any of the formal day care centers I looked into, so the lower cost is purely a bonus.

SpaceGirlSpiff · July 2013

Packerfan79 said:

In my area (DC metro) its 500.00+ a week at most centers AND there are wait lists everywhere.

Holy crap....ouch!

ByeBabyBunting · July 2013

WarKitten413 said:

Packerfan79 said:

In my area (DC metro) its 500.00+ a week at most centers AND there are wait lists everywhere.
Holy crap....ouch!

Daycare = Birth Control at that rate!

MrsWindyCity · July 2013

$1450/month for DS1 for a full time Montessori school

$344/week for DS2 for a center (which ends up being about the same as DS1's per month)

(

ReeseFox · July 2013

I can't even fathom paying $500 a week for one kid. I would literally be working just to pay for daycare.

msdrdg · July 2013

DS is full time at a center in SE Mass. They provide 2 meals and snacks. We pay $260 a week.

Sadly daycare is the #1 reason we are not having #2, we just can't afford it and as much as I hate my job I cannot SAH.

jorkz821 · July 2013

Toddler room is $800 a month for lunch and 2 snacks, full time. Baby room is about $1000 a month, also lunch and 2 snacks but you provide formula etc if needed (most daycares start at 12 months here).

So that'll be fun next year.

KikiSmash12 · July 2013

ItsAllGravy7 said:

Packerfan79 said:

In my area (DC metro) its 500.00+ a week at most centers AND there are wait lists everywhere.

Yup. We're in a center and daycare is more than our mortgage. Ours just got reduced slightly when B turned 3 and will go down again when C turns 2 next month but for now we pay $850 a week for both kids.

Damn, my jaw dropped. That's over $40k a year, yeah?

KikiSmash12 · July 2013

DD will start going to a center a month and we will pay $700/month. That's a little less than the average around here, average is probably ~$900. They provide meals as well. I'm in Austin, TX.

tbmadeamistake · July 2013

Just outside Boston I pay $275 a week for the infant, in two weeks I'll be paying $255 for the toddler room, woot! That would include snacks if she weren't gluten free (I need to talk to them about a discount as I supply all of her food/drink).

chardonnay24 · July 2013

When I was working, we paid about $200/week for 30 hours/week in a center.

lildevil968 · July 2013

My DS goes to the DOD DC on base. It is based on income, so I pay $75 a week. They provide all meals, and even formula for the babies.

For DD's youth summer camp on base I pay $135 a week. They provide all meals, sunscreen, and field trips. When she returns to school, I will pay $80 a week for before and after school care.

MooOink · July 2013

There are waitlist at almost all of the centers here. The one we are on the current waitlist for is $150 a week for 2 days only. I think full time is something like $1500 a month.

numeria11 · July 2013

239 a week for the 3 year old room at a Kindercare in the Chicago Suburbs. We were paying 260 for the toddler room until April. We are seeing a 5% increase in prices August 19th HOORAY! I'm very meh about the Kindercare we are at but think that's mostly the director and 1 staff member

In the city we were at 240 a week for the toddler room at our daycare center/dayschool there and loved it.

CinemaGoddess · July 2013

Our center is $1757 for both girls (including a sibling discount) and that includes breakfast, AM snack, lunch, and PM snack. It's one of the cheaper places around here. The other places we looked at (centers) ran between $2k and $3k for both of them.

Once they're PT it will go down about $100/month.

This is a significant drop from the $4k that we would've had to pay when the girls were infants.

MrsSparklesMcGee · July 2013

We're in the DC area and pay consistent with what others have mentioned above. I'm lucky that our center is subsidized by my employer, but we still pay $400+ per week until she's 2.5.

What's worse to me is that she only goes PT (3 days/week), but they won't give me any kind of a break since I'm taking what would be an otherwise FT slot. I understand, but HCOL areas have some real downsides...

cedenton · July 2013

MCOL area here. We pay $180/ week for religious affiliated center (this makes a difference in VA where it means they aren't licensed but DO have to follow guidelines and will be inspected if a complaint is issued). For that price he gets 2 meals and a snack. We provide everything else. The food isn't particularly healthy.

He is on the waitlist for an NAEYC accredited and fully licensed center at $220/wk.

Spapeggy · July 2013

ItsAllGravy7 said:

Packerfan79 said:

In my area (DC metro) its 500.00+ a week at most centers AND there are wait lists everywhere.

Yup. We're in a center and daycare is more than our mortgage. Ours just got reduced slightly when B turned 3 and will go down again when C turns 2 next month but for now we pay $850 a week for both kids.

I don't know how much you must make for it to be worth it. Not trying to be rude or anything, just that is an insane amount. 100 less than my dh entire pay and disability. I would pass out

FemShep · July 2013

Full time infant care, at a center in Cambridge, MA: $2600/month.

/wince

Spapeggy · July 2013

That's true I just can't believe it's so high. But I live I a low cost area...oklahoma

s0ulchicken · July 2013

I am ready to curl up in a ball and cry over some of those rates. My kids are only in daycare 2 days a week, and I pay $15 a day for each twin, so $30, and $10 for each big kid. It equals out to $50 a day, or $200 a month. When the bigs go back to school, I will pay $60 a week for before and aftercare.

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