SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco families making up to $325,000 annually are eligible for half-price child care subsidized by the city, according to The New York Times, which noted that for families of four making as much as $235,000 per year, it's free.
One such family taking advantage of the free child care as prices shoot up in the city amid the current AI boom is therapist John Marman and part-time pediatric nurse Natsumi Makiyama, the newspaper reported. The couple has a 1,200-square-foot home they paid $1.3 million for in 2023, with $8,600 every month going to their mortgage and vehicle costs, according to the Times.
"We're very lucky to receive the benefit for school, but life is just still very tough," Marman, who has two children, including a 4-year-old daughter who goes to preschool for free, and whose family has lived in San Francisco for five generations, told the newspaper.
Housing costs have increased 26 percent in the last year, with a median two-bedroom apartment renting at $4,640 and a median house costing more than $2 million, the Times reported.
"Yes, it is an incredibly, extraordinarily expensive city to live in and to work in and to thrive," Mayor Daniel Lurie told the newspaper. "That's why 50 percent off at $325,000 is so essential."
The program is mainly funded via a commercial gross receipts tax, with over 9,300 children enrolled and the city spending $238 million annually, according to the Times.
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