Michigan Has High Cost For Daycare

If you're a working parent you already know that daycare costs a lot. Due to the pandemic, Michigan ranks highest among costs for child care.

Finding an affordable daycare is already a challenge and the pandemic has only contributed to higher prices. The average annual price for daycare pre-Covid was $9,328. The pandemic crisis has elevated that number in Michigan by 61%. Now the average cost for daycare has increased to $15,505 annually per child.

According to the American Center for Progress and Child Care Aware For America, a large cost is staffing. Personnel expenses account for nearly 70% of daycare costs. Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s chief credit analyst says,

"Many day care [centers] have few options other than raising costs for parents in order to recover some of that lost revenue."

Location attributes to the higher cost too. It also costs centers more to ensure child safety during this pandemic. Daycares have been required to reduce capacity for safety reasons and these daycares then have to pass this cost onto parents. Schultz says,

"It's bad everywhere, but in Michigan it's particularly acute, and that's difficult, because Michigan, as you know, has seen high unemployment and is a fairly low-income state compared to some of the rest of the country. So when you add all of that up, it's a really, really hard time to have these costs appear on your on your budget."

Care.com adds that for a family in Grand Rapids with 2 children working at 40 hours a week, the average cost for a nanny is about $15 an hour, or $600 a week, which means it would cost you nearly $30,000 a year.

Shultz declares,

"Still, you may not have a choice. If you simply can’t afford your current child care anymore, shop around. You might be able to find a new center that works for you."