RI Child Care Costs More Than Rent, In-State Tuition: Report

Child care isn't cheap in Rhode Island, and it's a problem compounded by relatively low earning power in the Ocean State. A new report from the Economic Policy Institute said infant care costs about a fifth of the median family income.

The EPI said it costs $13,696 a year - or $1,141 a month - to get infant care in Rhode Island. That makes it the 13th most expensive state in the country; Massachusetts is the most expensive at $20,913 and Washington D.C. is $24,243.

Child care for two children - an infant and a 4-year-old - costs $24,383 in Rhode Island, the EPI said.

The cost is exacerbated by Rhode Island residents' earning power. The median family income is $66,928, so 20.5 percent of that goes to infant care, one of the highest marks in the nation. Conversely, it costs a comparable $12,791 in New Hampshire for child care, but that's just 15.3 percent of the median family income.

By U.S. Department of Health and Human Service standards, infant care is only affordable for 6.6 percent of Rhode Island families. Those families likely don't include a minimum-wage worker: the EPI said a minimum-wage worker would need to work 33 full-time weeks straight just to pay for infant care.

Annual infant care costs in Rhode Island costs more than a year's rent ($11,764) and a year's in-state tuition at a four-year public college ($12,239.) Rhode Island is one of 33 states where child care costs more than a year at such a college.

Sen. Elizabeth Warren in February announced a universal child care plan early in her presidential campaign. Warren's plan would cap child care costs at 7 percent of a family's income until a child reaches school age. Families with incomes more than 200 percent below the poverty line wouldn't have to pay for child care at all.

"In the wealthiest country on the planet, access to affordable and high-quality child care and early education should be a right, not a privilege reserved for the rich," Warren said in February.

EPI said if that percentage was capped at 7 percent for families, it would save them $8,685 per year. That would free up more than 5,000 parents to work, expanding the Rhode Island economy by more than $500 million, according to the report.