Child Care in 2021 Was More Expensive than Other Household Expenses
Such as Housing and Health Care
ARLINGTON, VA, October 13, 2022 — Child Care Aware® of America (CCAoA) today released Price of Care: 2021 Child Care Affordability, which outlines the continuing increases in the price of child care across the United States.
The report highlights survey data that shows that child care prices outpaced inflation in 2021 for the third consecutive year. In 2021, the average annual inflation rate was higher than usual at 4.7%, but child care prices rose by an average of 5% when compared to 2020 prices. This means families with children were more likely to struggle to afford child care on top of essentials such as food, housing and transportation.
“Parents continue to face the challenge of finding and affording high-quality child care,” said Lynette M. Fraga, Ph.D., CCAoA Chief Executive Officer. “Recent public investments in child care have been a lifeline and helped keep programs open. But robust, long-term public support is needed to make child care affordable for families and ensure more children have access to high-quality early learning experiences to prepare them for success in school and beyond.”