Child Care Costs In Minnesota Are Breaking Family Budgets

Child care costs continue to rise across the country, with the average cost of infant care in Minnesota currently at an average of $1,881 per month or $22,569 a year according to statistics from the Economic Policy Institute.

The number shrinks a little bit when the child grows out of infant care, with the average cost at $17,882 per year or $1,490 per month according to the EPI report.

KIDS OR A HOME? 

The numbers are even more shocking when comparing the cost of child care to other expenses in the state of Minnesota. For example, the annual cost of housing is $15,467 compared to the $22,569 figure for infant care.

In Minnesota, infant care for one child would take up 18% of a median family's income, while the United States Department of Health and Human Services recommends child care taking up less than 7% of a family's income.

HOW MINNESOTA RANKS 

The Economic Policy Institute study places Minnesota as having the third-highest cost of infant care in the country and one of 38 states where infant care costs exceed those of college.

Another recent study, this one by WalletHub, researched the child care cost for a married couple based on percentage of income.

Their study showed the average married couple in Minnesota to be spending 6.48% of its income on family-based child care, which places them as the fourth-cheapest in the United States.

However, Minnesota's cost of center-based child care is among the highest in the nation at 12.31%. That number is lower than only Hawaii, Vermont, Oregon, New York, Washington, Massachusetts and California.

COST KEEPS RISING

“It costs a lot of money to take care of a child’s needs, and many parents are left with the dilemma of whether to forgo one salary to do their own child care for the first few years or to shell out a significant chunk of their income for child care services," said WalletHub's Chip Lupo.  "Married parents who both work can expect to spend as much as 13% of what they earn on child care, while single parents’ costs can amount to an astounding 51%.”

The WalletHub study also notes that 66.5% of families see both parents employed, which makes the cost of child care a necessary evil for most families.