Two in Daycare in the Boston Burbs
We now have two kids in daycare in the burbs of Boston, inside the 95, and it's crazy expensive. Being in a HCOL area has it's pros and cons. Daycare cost is definitely a con.
The average household income in the US is around $52,000/year. In the Boston area, it's even higher at $68,000/year. If the two of us only made $68,000/year combined, then neither of our kids would be in daycare.
For an infant and a pre-schooler, we pay $734/week. And this is not fancy smancy you're kid will learn to do math and read before kindergarten in both english, spanish and chinese kind of daycare. This is more on the lines of we'll help your kid develop, and keep them relatively safe (except for the occasional bead up the nose) kind of place.
$734/week, after taxes. That's $38,168/year - AFTER TAXES. Closer to a salary of $50,000/year once you consider taxes. That doesn't take into account feeding, clothing, diapering, or housing these two kids. Much less paying for health insurance, contributing to a 401K plan, a car to transport said kids to daycare. That's just daycare so that we can both work.
This is a huge issue for both working parents, and for the population. Daycare should not be a luxury - it's a necessity to enable parents to be in the work force. The longer term issue is that couples may choose not to have two kids, or even one kid, because the cost is prohibitive. If there is not enough children being born, there won't be enough people working who are able to pay into social security and allow older workers to retire and get their full social security benefits.
It was funny being pregnant with my first - and people would talk about how expensive diapers where. Realistically - all the baby supplies cost us around $100/month, a tiny drop in the bucket compared to the $3100/month that we shell out for daycare.
The average household income in the US is around $52,000/year. In the Boston area, it's even higher at $68,000/year. If the two of us only made $68,000/year combined, then neither of our kids would be in daycare.
For an infant and a pre-schooler, we pay $734/week. And this is not fancy smancy you're kid will learn to do math and read before kindergarten in both english, spanish and chinese kind of daycare. This is more on the lines of we'll help your kid develop, and keep them relatively safe (except for the occasional bead up the nose) kind of place.
$734/week, after taxes. That's $38,168/year - AFTER TAXES. Closer to a salary of $50,000/year once you consider taxes. That doesn't take into account feeding, clothing, diapering, or housing these two kids. Much less paying for health insurance, contributing to a 401K plan, a car to transport said kids to daycare. That's just daycare so that we can both work.
This is a huge issue for both working parents, and for the population. Daycare should not be a luxury - it's a necessity to enable parents to be in the work force. The longer term issue is that couples may choose not to have two kids, or even one kid, because the cost is prohibitive. If there is not enough children being born, there won't be enough people working who are able to pay into social security and allow older workers to retire and get their full social security benefits.
It was funny being pregnant with my first - and people would talk about how expensive diapers where. Realistically - all the baby supplies cost us around $100/month, a tiny drop in the bucket compared to the $3100/month that we shell out for daycare.
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