Child Care Costs More Than College In Colorado

Child care isn’t cheap in Colorado. According to updated research from the Economic Policy Institute, parents in Colorado shell out $15,325 for infant care on average every year or $1,277 each month.

For parents in Colorado, child care is more expensive than in-state tuition at a four-year public college, which is true for more than half the country.

While infant care costs Colorado parents just over $15,325, the child-care costs for a 4-year-old is $12,390 or $1,032 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 6.2 percent of Colorado families. The agency’s standard says that child care is 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 21 percent of a median family’s income in Colorado.

For workers who earn minimum wage, child care is simply out of reach in Colorado, 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 Colorado $9,847 and would free up more parents to work. The report shows that would expand Colorado's economy by $3.1 billion.