Child care costs by state: Where does Georgia rank?
FILE PHOTO: Small boy playing with little wood toys at home on the floor learning colors and counting.
ATLANTA - A new study from WalletHub is ranking child care costs by state and Georgia ranks 42nd for married couples and 41st for single parents in overall child care costs.
What we know:
The data shows that married couples in Georgia spend an average of 8% of their income on center-based child care, while single parents spend an average of 28%—a significantly higher financial burden.
Experts cited in the study say rising child care costs are driven by multiple factors, including the lingering effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, declining availability of child care providers, and limited public funding.
WalletHub’s rankings also reveal where families face the steepest child care expenses:
Most expensive states for married couples:
- New York (12.84%)
- New Mexico (11.14%)
- Washington (12.61%)
Most expensive states for single parents:
- District of Columbia (51.18%)
- New York (44.71%)
- Massachusetts (48.51%)
Most affordable state overall:
South Dakota (6.66%/20.71%)
Dig deeper:
To identify the states with the highest and lowest child care costs, WalletHub analyzed the prices of family-based and center-based child care and adjusted them by the median income.
What they're saying:
The report underscores growing concerns about the financial strain on families where incomes often don’t keep pace with rising child care costs.