The 15 States Where Spending on Child Care Is Highest

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Editor’s Note: This story originally appeared on How to Home.

The last few years have been tough on working parents. Policymakers expanded the Child Tax Credit in 2021 to provide additional financial assistance for families with kids, but Congress has let the payments revert to previous levels.

Over the past two decades, child care costs have risen much faster than overall prices. While median annual child care spending is $6,000 overall among families with kids 13 and under, child care costs vary across the U.S.

High child care costs have disproportionate impacts on low-income families and racial minorities, many of whom allocate significantly more than 7% of their income to child care — the threshold used by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to assess child care affordability.

To determine the states with the most and least affordable child care, researchers at HowToHome analyzed the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s Current Population Survey. See how this study was conducted by reading the last (Methodology) slide.

15. Pennsylvania

Independence Hall in Philadelphia
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Share of income spent on child care: 5.6%
Median annual child care spending: $6,000
Median annual income: $100,501

14. Tennessee

Johnson City, Tennessee
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Share of income spent on child care: 5.7%
Median annual child care spending: $4,800
Median annual income: $77,313

13. Florida

Jon Bilous / Shutterstock.com

Share of income spent on child care: 6.0%
Median annual child care spending: $5,000
Median annual income: $75,681

12. Louisiana

Louisiana
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Share of income spent on child care: 6.0%
Median annual child care spending: $5,180
Median annual income: $72,501

11. Georgia

Savannah Georgia riverboat.
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Share of income spent on child care: 6.0%
Median annual child care spending: $5,200
Median annual income: $74,041

10. Texas

Garner State Park, Texas
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Share of income spent on child care: 6.2%
Median annual child care spending: $6,000
Median annual income: $81,816

9. South Dakota

Sioux Falls, South Dakota
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Share of income spent on child care: 6.3%
Median annual child care spending: $6,300
Median annual income: $100,027

8. North Dakota

Sheyenne River, North Dakota
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Share of income spent on child care: 6.3%
Median annual child care spending: $6,600
Median annual income: $95,048

7. Virginia

Steve Heap / Shutterstock.com

Share of income spent on child care: 6.4%
Median annual child care spending: $9,000
Median annual income: $105,100

6. Iowa

Boy in car on country road
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Share of income spent on child care: 6.5%
Median annual child care spending: $6,500
Median annual income: $100,000

5. Alaska

Sitka, Alaska waterfront, mountains in background.
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Share of income spent on child care: 6.5%
Median annual child care spending: $9,600
Median annual income: $90,200

4. New York

ice cream truck
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Share of income spent on child care: 6.6%
Median annual child care spending: $8,320
Median annual income: $100,000

3. Massachusetts

Minute Man National Historic Park, Concord, Massachusetts
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Share of income spent on child care: 6.7%
Median annual child care spending: $7,200
Median annual income: $120,081

2. Alabama

Leslie Stewart Gafford / Shutterstock.com

Share of income spent on child care: 6.8%
Median annual child care spending: $6,000
Median annual income: $75,000

1. North Carolina

Woman at beach in North Carolina
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Share of income spent on child care: 7.1%
Median annual child care spending: $6,400
Median annual income: $87,126

Methodology

Operations research analyst
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To find the states spending the most on child care, researchers at HowToHome.com analyzed the latest data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 Current Population Survey Annual Social and Economic Supplement.

The researchers ranked states according to the median share of household income spent on child care.

In the event of a tie, the state with the larger median annual child care spending was ranked higher. Researchers also calculated the median annual household income.

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