Child Care Costs More Than College In North Carolina

CHARLOTTE, NC — Child care isn’t cheap in North Carolina. According to updated research from the Economic Policy Institute, parents in North Carolina shell out $9,480 for infant care on average every year or $790 each month.

For parents in North Carolina, child care is more expensive than in-state tuition at a four-year public college, which is true for more than half the country. The average annual college tuition cost in the state comes in at $7,354 per year, according to the study.

While infant care costs North Carolina parents just over $9,000 the child-care costs for a 4-year-old is $8,113 or $676 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 12.4 percent of North Carolina 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 17.8 percent of a median family’s income in North Carolina.

For workers who earn minimum wage, child care is simply out of reach in North Carolina, the EPI says. “A minimum wage worker in North Carolina would need to work full time for 33 weeks, or from January to August, just to pay for child care for one infant,” the study said.

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 North Carolina $5,527 and would free up more parents to work.

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