BUSSW’s Institute for Equity in Child Opportunity & Healthy Development Finds Child Care Unaffordable for Most Working Families
For many working parents in the United States, child care is increasingly out of reach. After historic federal investment during the COVID-19 pandemic expired, prices have continued to rise faster than family incomes, worsening affordability nationwide.
A new research brief from the Institute for Equity in Child Opportunity & Healthy Development (IECOHD) at Boston University School of Social Work examines child care affordability for full-time working parents with children under age 14. The analysis compares the cost of center-based and home-based care with family income across income levels, race and ethnicity, immigrant status, and state. Researchers assessed affordability using the federal benchmark that child care should cost no more than 7% of household income.
The findings show widespread strain. Although 75% of parents with a child under 14 work full time, year round, most would still exceed the affordability threshold. Most would face unaffordable child care, with 68% paying too much for center-based care and 63% for home-based care. Among low-income working parents, nearly all would exceed the benchmark, with market-rate care consuming about one-third of family income.
Disparities persist across communities. Nationally, 73% of Black parents, 81% of Hispanic parents and 71% of immigrant parents working full time would face unaffordable costs. Across states, center-based care meets the federal affordability benchmark in only three states, and home-based care exceeds the threshold in most places.
The analysis underscores child care affordability as an ongoing national challenge affecting families’ ability to work and maintain economic stability.