But Over 80% of Families Say Their Child Care
Plan is Worth the Money
According to the Care.com 2017 Cost of Care Survey, 32% of
families spend 20% or more of their annual household income on
child care. Despite high child care costs, a majority of families
(81%) say their current child care plan is worth the money. The
fourth annual survey from Care.com (NYSE: CRCM; www.care.com), the
world’s largest online destination for finding and managing family
care, also found that families are increasingly recognizing the
need to budget for child care (72% in 2017, compared to 58% in
2014).
“With heightened awareness of child care costs, parents are
rightfully budgeting for baby more than ever before,” said Robyn
Wentzel-Freeman, data analyst at Care.com. “However, even with this
preparation, the Care.com 2017 Cost of Care Survey found that high
child care costs still challenge families financially, emotionally,
and in the workplace.”
2017 COST OF CARE
AROUND THE COUNTRY
Annual Child Care Costs: 32% of families spend 20% or
more of their household income on child care; 48% spend more than
10% of their income on child care.
National Average Weekly Rates*:
- Nanny: $565
- Child Care Center: $211
- Family Child Care Program: $200
- Au Pair: $367
- After School Sitter: $232
*all rates are for one infant child, except for After School
Sitter, which is not age limited.
Top 5 Most Affordable States for a
Nanny* Top 5 Least Affordable States for a
Nanny* 1. New Hampshire
2. New Jersey
3. Maryland
4. Connecticut
5. North Dakota
1. Mississippi
2. New Mexico
3. Arkansas
4. West Virginia
5. Alabama
Top 5 Most Affordable States for a
Child Care Center* Top 5 Least Affordable
States for a Child Care Center* 1. North Dakota
2. Utah
3. Delaware
4. Arkansas
5. New Jersey
1. District of Columbia
2. Oregon
3. California
4. Alaska
5. New York
*Based on the average cost of care for one child in relation to
the state median family income among households with children
CARE.COM 2017 COST OF
CARE SURVEY INSIGHTS
How Prepared Are Families for Child Care Costs?Families
are doing more to prepare for child care costs – one of their
biggest expenses – with 72% now budgeting for child care, an
increase from 58% in 2014. However, families still struggle with
the realities of expenses. Thirty percent of parents who set up a
monthly “family budget” for overall expenses (e.g. education,
clothing and extracurricular activities) are rarely or never able
to stay within their family budget, and 69% go over by $100 or more
per month.
What Extras Will Parents Pay More For?While more than
half of parents (52%) say they spend too much on child care,
they’re still willing to pay more for caregivers with additional
skills, education, and services. A majority of parents would be
willing to pay more for nannies and au pairs with an early
education degree (72%), certification in CPR or First Aid (67%),
multilingual skills and the ability to teach their children other
languages (64%), a college degree (58%), or organic cooking skills
(54%). At child care centers and schools, parents would pay more
for a lower student/teacher ratio (77%), more variety in classes
(70%), a video camera to check in on children (69%), a driver or
concierge to pick up and drop off their children (68%), better
technology to communicate with families (60%), or organic food
(53%).
Overall, How Much do Parents Spend on Their Children?From
child care and education to clothing and extracurricular
activities, 30% of parents say they spend $25,000 or more annually
on each child. More than half of parents (59%) don’t know how much
they spend on their children each year; however, this is an
improvement from 2016, where 71% said they were unaware of overall
spend.
What’s the Emotional and Financial Toll of Child Care
Costs?Approximately 1 in 3 parents (32%) would put themselves
in debt — or further in debt — to pay for child care, an increase
from 25% in 2016. Forty percent say child care costs cause tension
in their relationship with their partner. The cost of child care is
also influencing family planning decisions. One in 5 families (20%)
say they had fewer children than they would have liked because of
the cost of child care, and 17% say they waited longer to have
children. Nevertheless, 81% still feel their current child care
plan is worth the money.
How Does Child Care Influence Career Decisions?Prior to
having children, approximately 3 out of 4 people (76%) said they
didn’t think child care costs would influence their career
decisions. Yet nearly 2 out of 3 parents (63%) stated that child
care costs did indeed influence their career, with 33% changing
jobs to increase take-home pay, 27% asking for a more flexible work
schedule, and 23% downshifting to a part-time schedule or becoming
a stay-at-home parent to save money on child care. Approximately 1
in 4 parents (26%) who decided to downshift to part-time work or
leave the workforce entirely walked away from annual incomes of
$50,000 or more. In hindsight, approximately 1 in 5 parents (21%)
say they wouldn't have made the same career decisions.
Can Employers Help Working Parents and Their
Companies?Nearly half of working parents (44%) say their
employer seems to care about their child care needs, yet the need
for employer support is real. An overwhelming majority of working
parents (85%) wish their employer offered child care benefits, such
as discounted child care and access to back up child care. This
type of support would be meaningful for both parents and employers,
as nearly 3 in 4 working parents (73%) say their job has been
affected because their child care plans fell through last-minute.
The use of a sick day (64%) and being late to work (54%) were the
top two ways their job was affected.
“It’s clear from the Care.com 2017 Cost of Care Survey that
working parents continue to struggle balancing care and work,” said
Ben Robinson, Global VP of Sales & Account Management for
Care@Work, Care.com’s enterprise solution for helping companies
support their working families. “It’s important that companies
today address their workforce’s parental responsibilities and offer
family care benefits, especially if they want to compete for and
retain the best talent. Fifty-two percent of parents surveyed feel
that workplaces should provide benefits to support working
families. Whether it’s a flexible work arrangement or subsidized
back up child care, these benefits should reflect the way today’s
parents work.”
What Can Parents Do to Reduce the Cost of Care?There are
ways families can mitigate the cost of child care. To get a sense
of how much they can afford to spend on child care, parents can
find free, interactive tools to discover local nanny rates and
nanny tax calculators. Opening a Dependent Care Flexible Spending
Account (FSA), offered by many employers, is also one method
families can save thousands of dollars each year on child care.
Yet, 1 in 3 parents aren’t aware of this cost-cutting tactic.
How Do Parents Feel About the Country’s Cost of Care?Even
having budgets and contributing to Dependent Care FSAs, families
feel they need more help. More than 2 out of 3 families (68%) say
the tax deduction received from a Dependent Care FSA isn’t enough
to have a meaningful impact. Fifty-three percent say American
culture doesn’t do enough to support working parents when it comes
to the cost of care, and 47% say they wish the United States
subsidized child care costs as some other countries do. As families
look to Congress to make changes in this area, the top two words
that best describe how parents feel about how much they spend on
their children each year are “necessary” and “stretched.”
About the Care.com 2017 Cost of Care
DataThe Cost of Care Survey is an annual survey to
measure the relative cost of care in the U.S. and how care impacts
families’ budgets and employment. The Care.com 2017 Cost of Care
Survey captured responses from more than 1,100 parents in the
United States during the month of May 2017. Respondents were
recruited from Care.com.
Weekly rates for child care costs are based on Care.com 2016
member data, with the exception of au pair rates, which are based
on data from Cultural Care Au Pair, Au Pair in America, and Au Pair
Care. Affordability rankings are calculated based on the average
cost of care for one child in relation to the U.S. Census Bureau’s
2015 American Community Survey that includes both married and
single parent households with children.
For more information about the survey, sources,
a video about the survey findings, or to learn helpful
tips on saving, visit Care.com/costofcare. Employers can also find
helpful tips on how to best support their working families at
workplace.care.com/costofcare.
About Care.comSince
launching in 2007, Care.com (NYSE: CRCM) has been committed to
solving the complex care challenges that impact families,
caregivers, employers, and care service companies. Today, Care.com
is the world’s largest online destination for finding and managing
family care, with 13.6 million families and 10.4 million
caregivers* across more than 20 countries, including the U.S., UK,
Canada and parts of Western Europe, and approximately 1.2 million
employees of corporate clients having access to our services.
Spanning child care to senior care, pet care, housekeeping and
more, Care.com provides a sweeping array of services for families
and caregivers to find, manage and pay for care or find employment.
These include a comprehensive suite of safety tools and resources
members may use to help make more informed hiring decisions, such
as third-party background check services, monitored messaging, and
tips on hiring best practices; easy ways for caregivers to be paid
online or via mobile app; and Care.com Benefits, including the
household payroll and tax services provided by Care.com HomePay and
the Care Benefit Bucks program, a peer-to-peer pooled, portable
benefits platform funded by household employer contributions which
provides caregivers access to professional benefits. For enterprise
clients, Care.com builds customized benefits packages covering
child care, back up care, and senior care consulting services
through its Care@Work business, and serves care businesses with
marketing and recruiting support. To connect families further,
Care.com acquired community platforms Big Tent and Kinsights in
2013 and 2015, respectively. Headquartered in Waltham,
Massachusetts, Care.com has offices in Berlin, Austin, and the San
Francisco Bay area.
*As of March 2017.
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version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170718005170/en/
Care.comNatasha GavilanezPublic Relations
Associatenatasha.gavilanez@care.com
Care com (NYSE:CRCM)
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