The Shocking Cost of Infant Care in Every State

Washington, D.C. – The National Women’s Law Center (NWLC) released a new analysis revealing that a family must make more than $180,000 per year to reasonably afford the national cost of infant child care. The federal government defines affordable  child care as costing no more than 7% of a family’s pre-tax income.

The analysis also reveals that infant care is wildly unaffordable in every single state in America. A state-by-state analysis exposes D.C. as the most expensive place for infant care, with a family needing to make $330,571 per year to reasonably afford it, followed by Massachusetts ($279,529), California ($256,993), and Washington state ($256,929).

This new analysis comes as congressional Republicans are seeking to cut funding to two major programs that support child care to pay for billionaire tax cuts, which could lead to higher costs for families already struggling to afford care.

“While Donald Trump and congressional Republicans are looking to pay for their billionaire tax cuts by cutting child care programs, families across the country are breaking the bank to pay for infant care,” said Melissa Boteach, vice president of Child Care and Income Security at NWLC. “You shouldn’t need to earn $180,000 a year to afford care for a new baby. Child care is essential for parents, especially mothers, to stay in the labor force, and it’s also foundational for children’s growth and development. If congressional Republicans chose to invest in affordable child care, rather than provide new tax cuts for the wealthiest, we could afford to drastically lower child care costs for families.”

NWLC is leading efforts to highlight congressional Republican’s plan to undermine critical programs for women and families in order to pay for billionaire tax cuts, including by being an official partner of the newly launched Families Over Billionaires campaign.

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