Daycare More Expensive Than College in Massachusetts, Study Finds

SUDBURY, MA — Parents in the Bay State may be dipping into college savings for their kids much earlier. They may have to use the savings to pay for daycare before that child even heads to elementary school.

A study recently released by the Economic Policy Institutereported that Massachusetts is one of 33 states where infant care is more expensive than college, and is ranked second-most costly in the country.

The report found that the average annual cost of infant care in the Bay State is $17,062, which breaks down to $1,422 per month, and child care for a 4-year-old costs $12,781, or $1,065 per month.

According to care.com, which rates and indicates costs of daycare businesses, there are 58 in or near Sudbury, including Next Generation's Children's Centers and Alpha Tots Family DayCare.

In comparing the cost to college tuition, infant care is $6,360, or 59.4 percent, more than the cost of an in-state four-year college. Care for infants also costs families 15.3 more than average rent rates, said the study.

Families with two children of course are paying more, but even one child is costing the average family 19.5 percent of its annual income in Massachusetts. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services concluded that it should cost no more than 10 percent of they family's annual income to be "affordable." That means that less than 19 percent of Massachusetts families can afford infant care.

Read the full report here.

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