Not long ago, I came across a Twitter discussion sparked by a single question: “Can someone clarify why daycare centers are so pricey, yet their employees are so underpaid? What am I missing?”
In a follow-up tweet, a user named @DrJ_Miller mentioned that her parents operate a small, at-home daycare, and her inquiry stemmed from a noticeable disparity between their fees and what she pays in her area of Georgia. (I assume her parents’ daycare is located further north.)
I remember feeling overwhelmed by the expense of the childcare center my son attended when he was younger and I was just starting my career. It was astounding to think we were paying nearly as much as our mortgage—about half of my take-home pay at that time—just for someone to care for our two-year-old.
I wasn’t alone in my shock at these prices. Across the United States, childcare costs are often a household’s largest or second-largest expense, rivaling mortgage or rent payments. Yet, daycare staff and early childhood educators earn very little. The Center for American Progress reports that almost 40% of daycare workers rely on public assistance at some point. The centers themselves usually operate on very tight budgets. (If you’re interested in specific scenarios, you can check out this interactive tool that uses national averages and local data to provide state-specific cost estimates for early childhood care in your area.)
So, why is early childhood education so exorbitantly priced? And why aren’t its workers compensated better?
I anticipated a barrage of criticism aimed at daycare providers in response to that tweet, but instead, many comments focused on the practical challenges of running a daycare.
“Imagine if parents and childcare workers received the same hourly wage,” remarked user @LindsayJones. “If one worker cares for four children, that person needs a quarter of a parent’s pay for each child. Plus FICA taxes, benefits, utilities, equipment, supplies, and food. Not to mention accounting.”
“Just do the math,” user @JordanSmith suggested. “In many states, you can have three staff members for ten infants. At $200 per week per child for 45 weeks, that totals $90,000 annually. Even without factoring in rent or overhead, that’s $30,000 per staff member. You can adjust the numbers, but the basic math is clear.”
When I was grappling with the shock of my own child’s care costs, I arrived at a similar conclusion. Yes, we were spending almost as much as our mortgage to ensure our son had a safe place to stay while I worked. But the reality was that the caregivers who took such good care of him were not earning much, nor was the owner of the facility.
It’s important to note that the calculations in @JordanSmith‘s tweet assume an even distribution of the $90,000. That figure doesn’t account for any overhead costs—no mortgage, liability insurance, utilities, internet, phone, maintenance, bookkeeping, food, cleaning supplies, or decor.
Daycare owners typically aren’t making huge profits, and neither are the employees. Of course, this doesn’t rule out the possibility of price-gouging or mistreatment. Anyone operating a business can become greedy and take advantage of their employees or inflate prices while claiming to provide “elite” services.
So, what’s the solution?
The answer lies in recognizing that, like other essential services—such as food production, education, and infrastructure—early childhood education should be funded by public resources. Yes, using tax dollars. Despite our rhetoric about the importance of providing children with the best start in life, and our admiration for early childhood educators, we are not putting our money where our mouths are.
We expect highly qualified professionals to care for our children and prepare them for school, which is a reasonable expectation. Every child deserves high-quality care. However, this expectation must be matched by appropriate compensation for these educators. The only way to achieve this while also keeping childcare affordable for parents is through subsidies.
While “fiscal conservatives” may complain about tax increases to support a service people might choose to skip, the reality is that funding quality early childhood education through tax dollars would enhance our overall economic and social well-being. Children who receive quality early education perform better in nearly every aspect of life, from health to self-esteem.
Parents who can afford daycare are also able to work, access preventative healthcare, and contribute to the economy through their spending. Investing in early childhood education is not merely an expense; it is a crucial investment in our future.
So yes, daycare is incredibly expensive, and no, daycare workers are not compensated adequately. However, it’s usually not the daycare providers we should scrutinize for high fees; it’s ourselves and our representatives. We need to ask why we haven’t collectively chosen to invest in our children and how we can change that.
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Search Queries:
- Why is daycare so expensive?
- Daycare worker salaries
- Cost of early childhood education
- Subsidizing daycare costs
- Public funding for childcare
Summary:
Childcare costs are rising while daycare workers remain underpaid, creating a significant disparity in the industry. Despite the high expenses associated with daycare, the workers who provide care often rely on public assistance. The need for better funding and subsidies for early childhood education is apparent to ensure that both parents can afford care and that workers receive adequate compensation. This issue requires collective action and investment in future generations.