Child Care Costs More Than Average Housing In Ohio

Child care isn’t cheap in Ohio. According to updated research from the Economic Policy Institute, parents in Ohio shell out $9,697 for infant care on average every year or $808 each month.

For parents in Ohio, child care is comparable to in-state tuition (a little over $10,000 annually) at a four-year public college. In more than half the country, college tuition for a four-year public university is cheaper than child care.

While infant care costs Ohio parents just over $9,697, the child-care costs for a 4-year-old is $7,895 or $657 per month, according to the Washington, D.C.-based think tank’s calculations.

By U.S. Department of Health and Human Service standards, infant care is only affordable for 12.2 percent of Ohio families. The agency’s standard says that child care if affordable if it costs no more than 7 percent of a family’s income. According to the EPI’s calculations, infant care for one child would take up nearly 17 percent of a median family’s income in Ohio.

For workers who earn minimum wage, child care is simply out of reach in Ohio, the EPI says.

The EPI suggests certain solutions for lowering the costs of child care, including capping child-care expenses at 7 percent. That would save a typical family in Ohio $5,456 and would free up more parents to work.