How much does it cost to put a kid in daycare?

I paid $120 per week in the mid 90s. I live in Illinois and have no idea how much it costs now. I stay home with my children now. We can’t afford child care. I like it better this way.

$540 a month here for a good one. $20 extra a month if you want camera access to watch your kid from home. I’m in South Mississippi.

in Arizona about 15 per day…

In the Sacramento a professional day care facility, with licensed personnel, the cost is usually around $100 – $200 per week per child, depending on hours and age.

In a private, licensed home, it is less.

When my daughter was born ten years ago, we paid $115/week for her to go to a wonderful home daycare where she was the only infant. We counted ourselves lucky, because here in CT that was a bargain.

Later on, our kids went to the daycare where I started working to be closer to them. Because I taught there, we didn’t pay full tuition—which we couldn’t have afforded. It was also a great place. Normal tuition ran about $600/month. Families who had three kids there paid more for childcare each month than we did for our mortgage!

I’d suggest you call around and ask local daycare centers/home daycare providers if they accept infants, what they charge, and if there is a waiting list. Many times, a place with a good reputation can be difficult to get into unless you place your name on a waiting list as soon as you find out you’re pregnant. Don’t wait until the baby is born or your maternity leave is almost up!

In my area, it can cost between 650-Over a 1000 a month. Obviously we can’t afford it. I prefer in house sitters instead, but that can get expensive.

Michigan here, and it was something like 600/month here, on the low side but not into the subsidized. We can’t afford kids.

Infant care $200 – $350 a week, once they’re potty trained $150 a week (caregiver ratio goes down). After school care $60 – $75 a week, with $1 per minute late pickup charge after 6 pm.

It varies greatly, depending on your income level and the facility you choose.

Here in South Texas in the 1990’s it ran between $70—$120 per week in a private home, and $100—$200 a week for us at one of the “subsidized” day cares (we made too much for the subsidy) and considerably less for folks who were considered low income. After bad experiences with both, we opted for a Montessori school that offered infant care up through elementary school. It ran about $800 per month and was definitely worth every penny.

Daycare is like a lot of things—you often get what you pay for, but sometimes you get a lot more than you pay for. I’ve worked in a few centers and also in one private home daycare. Of those places, there are only two I’d send my own kids to. One of them (this was in Indiana) was $95 a week and included breakfast, lunch, and snacks for the kids. Of course, this was about 13 years ago and I’m sure the cost is higher now.

The home daycare where we chose to send our daughter was by far the “cheapest” daycare option we looked into, but we chose that caregiver because she was so great. That expensive center where I later worked did have an incredible program as well, but not long before I left we got a new director who proceeded to make a lot of bad choices. I wouldn’t send my kids there now if it were free, and at one point I adored that center.

So, there’s more to it than just the cost. It’s really the caregivers that make all the difference. Ask how to choose a daycare when you get to that point, and I’ll test the character limits of this comment box with my answer. :)

@MissAusten The way I read it, LKidKyle wants to start a day care, not choose one

I live in North Carolina and daycares (good ones) are getting to be pretty pricey. We paid $187 a week, when I was working – for my son – he was two, when he was at that center. For preschool (Monday, Wednesday and Friday 9–1p) we paid $140 a week for part time care.

When he was an infant, we had an in-home sitter (in our neighborhood) and paid her $150 a week.

My daughter’s daycare/preschool was 1,000 a month. That covered the two extra activities I paid for, along with the care. Keep in mind, my daughter is now 15.

Kyle…. you are going to start a kid?

@YARNLADY hahahahaha Now that I read it again, I feel like a complete idiot! “I don’t have kids but am thinking of starting one” just struck me as a cute way of someone saying they’re thinking of having a kid.

@MissAusten you could be the one that is correct

I thought he was starting a kid, too.

Yeah now that I re-read my question I can see what you mean. I am not starting a “kid” I am thinking about starting a day care.

Oh, I thought you meant start a kid, too.

So glad I wasn’t alone in my interpretation of the question!

In that case, I’d call around and ask home caregivers/centers what their rates are. Usually, part-time care is a bit more expensive on an hourly/daily basis. If you charge $100 a week, parents who need care only three days of the week might pay $75 because it’s often harder to fill up those remaining two days than to fill another full-time spot.