As any parent with infants could tell you, childcare costs have exploded in recent years, with costs varying greatly across the U.S. But luckily for parents in or near Collin and Denton Counties, two of America’s least-expensive infant childcare counties are right here in North Texas, according to a report from the Substack publication American Inequality.
“Millions of Americans are now spending more than 1 in 4 dollars of their income on childcare, reducing their ability to pay for housing, healthcare, or healthy food,” Jeremy Ney writes in the report. “This is particularly challenging for low-income Americans who may already have restricted budgets.”
But paying 1 in 4 dollars would be a steal compared to America’s most expensive childcare counties.
“Our research found that residents of Bronx County in New York City have to pay 47% of their household income on out-of-home childcare for one child, the highest of any county in America,” the American Inequality report states.
Collin County is the No. 9 least expensive county for infant center-based childcare in the U.S.—and Denton County isn’t far behind
Ney wrote an article for Business Insider that lists the Most Expensive and Least Expensive Places for Childcare in the U.S. The lists are based on the price of infant center-based childcare as share of family income. Bronx County in New York City is followed by other Most Expensive counties in, not surprisingly, New York, California, and Suffolk County in Massachusetts.
But North Texas’ Collin County appears at No. 9 on the “Least Expensive” list, requiring only 8.53% of family income to obtain infant center-based childcare.
And Denton County is not far behind, ranking No. 12 on the “Least Expensive” list, requiring only 9.19% of family income to obtain infant center-based childcare.
The American Inequality report notes that just last month, President Joe Biden signed an executive order on Increasing Access to High-Quality Care and Supporting Caregivers. So the issue is front and center not just in family homes, but in Washington and across the country.
You can read the full American Inequality report by going here.
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