Infant Childcare Costs More in Massachusetts Than College Tuition

Frog Pond Photo by Andrew Watson on Flickr/Creative Commons

It may be less expensive to send your kid to college than to day care, according to troubling new research.

The Economic Policy Institute found in a recent study that Massachusetts ranks second in the nation for having the most expensive infant care. It also discovered that parents in the state pay $6,360, or 59.4 percent, more per year than what it costs for in-state tuition at a four-year public college.

Overall, Massachusetts is one of 33 states, as well as Washington D.C., where it costs more to pay for infant childcare than for college.

According to the study, the average annual cost of infant care in the Bay State is a little bit more than $17,000 while childcare for a 4-year-old costs almost $13,000 per year. The research also found that child care in Massachusetts costs 15.3 percent more than the average rent.

Families with more than one child face an even bigger burden, as the average annual cost for childcare for both an infant and a 4-year-old costs nearly $30,000. That’s 101.6 percent more than average rent in the state.

Considering that a recent study by the Boston Redevelopment Authority found that half of Boston residents earn less than $35,000 a year, it’s hard to imagine how a single parent in the city could afford childcare at all.