Child care costs in the United States

Learn more

To learn more about the high cost of child care, check out these EPI resources:

Sources

David Blau, The Child Care Problem: An Economic Analysis, Russell Sage Foundation, 2001.

Bureau of Economic Analysis, GDP and Personal Income Regional Economic Accounts [Interactive data tables], 2017.

Bureau of Labor Statistics, Occupational Employment and Wage Estimates, May 2018.

Child Care Aware of America, The U.S. and the High Cost of Child Care: A Review of Prices and Proposed Solutions for a Broken System, 2018.

Department of Health and Human Services, Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF) Program; Proposed Rule, 80 Fed. Reg. 80466–80582 (December 24, 2015).

Economic Policy Institute, Current Population Survey Extracts, version 0.6.0., 2019.

Economic Policy Institute, Minimum Wage Tracker, last updated July 12, 2019.

U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey, “Median Gross Rent: ACS 5-year Estimates for 2013–2017” [online data table], 2018.

U.S. Department of Education, National Center for Education Statistics, “Table 330.20. Average Undergraduate Tuition and Fees and Room and Board Rates Charged for Full-time Students in Degree-Granting Postsecondary Institutions, by Control and Level of Institution and State or Jurisdiction” [online data table], 2018.

Last updated July 2019