Winchester Daycare Costs: Is It More Expensive than College?

Charlene Arsenault contributed to this report.

WINCHESTER, MA— Parents in the Bay State may be dipping into college savings for their kids much earlier. They may have to use the savings to pay for daycare before that child even heads to elementary school.

A study recently released by the Economic Policy Institute reported that Massachusetts is one of 33 states where infant care is more expensive than college, and is ranked second-most costly in the country.

The report found that the average annual cost of infant care in the Bay State is $17,062, which breaks down to $1,422 per month, and child care for a 4-year-old costs $12,781, or $1,065 per month.

In comparing the cost to college tuition, infant care is $6,360, or 59.4 percent, more than the cost of an in-state four-year college. Care for infants also costs families 15.3 more than average rent rates, said the study.

Massachusetts is rather large, so how expensive is daycare in Winchester?

According to Care.com, local daycare rates tend to be below that threshold. The Preschool Social Academy and Tiny Tots Daycare show "costimates" of $220 per week. However, venturing outside of Winchester could incur costs of over $300 per week, exceeding the state average.

A list of daycare centers in Winchester and surrounding areas can be found here.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services concluded that it should cost no more than 10 percent of they family's annual income to be "affordable." That means that less than 19 percent of Massachusetts families can afford infant care.

Read the full report here.