How Much Income Do You Need to Afford Day Care in 2026?
For many U.S. families, paying for child care can take a significant bite out of the household budget. A new ConsumerAffairs analysis found families nationwide would need to earn about $205,000 a year for full-time, center-based toddler care to meet a federal affordability benchmark.
That figure is more than twice the 2024 median family income of $99,999. Nationwide, average toddler care costs account for 14.3% of median family income, more than double the 7% affordability benchmark previously established by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.
High child care costs can affect more than household budgets. Experts told ConsumerAffairs that families may respond by cutting other expenses, having fewer children or leaving the workforce.
“The system may appear more functional than it is because families are absorbing much of the instability themselves,” Brittany Walsh, senior associate director at the Bipartisan Policy Center, told ConsumerAffairs.
Where Day Care Is Most Expensive
Massachusetts tops the list, with families needing an estimated $349,543 in annual household income for toddler care to meet the 7% benchmark. Full-time care costs an average of $24,468 a year, or $2,039 a month.
Vermont ranks second at $294,586 in required income, followed by Oregon at $293,814, Washington at $293,486 and Hawaii at $283,314.
Oregon has the highest child care costs relative to median family income. Average toddler care consumes 20.1% of median family income in the state, meaning a typical household would need to nearly triple its income for care to reach the 7% threshold.
Where Day Care Is Least Expensive
Mississippi has the lowest estimated income needed to afford toddler care, at $92,743. But that is still nearly $20,000 higher than the state’s median family income of $73,163.
West Virginia ranks second-lowest at $121,986, followed by Alabama at $123,514, South Dakota at $126,557 and Arkansas at $127,614.
Mississippi also has the lowest average annual toddler care cost in the analysis, at $6,492. Even so, that represents 8.9% of median family income, showing that lower child care prices do not necessarily make care affordable for typical households.
Day Care Compared With Other Major Expenses
Child care can also cost more than other major household expenses. ConsumerAffairs found annual toddler care costs more than average in-state tuition at a four-year public college in 37 states.
Nationally, toddler care costs about 35% more than average in-state public college tuition. Child care costs are lower than median mortgage and rent payments in most states.
The analysis used 2025 state averages for full-time, center-based toddler care from Child Care Aware of America. ConsumerAffairs calculated the income needed for care to represent 7% of household income by dividing each state’s annual child care cost by 0.07.
New Mexico was excluded because it began offering universal no-cost child care to residents in late 2025. Colorado and South Carolina did not report 2025 child care costs, so their figures were estimated using the national year-over-year change in child care costs.
Reporter Anthony Thompson can be reached at [email protected], or on X @athompsonUSAT. This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How much income do you need to afford day care in 2026? Reporting by Anthony Thompson, USA TODAY / USA TODAY. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.
