Parents spend a lot of time worrying about how they’ll afford college tuition for their kids someday, but a pair of recent surveys show exorbitant college-like costs actually come much earlier in life.
In more than half the states, childcare costs more than in-state public college tuition, according to lending platform NetCredit.com. Then, comes the price you pay for independent kids. Teen car ownership now also costs more than in-state tuition at a public university, an analysis by car app Jerry shows.
Everyone already knows raising a child is expensive, but it’s getting even pricier. After two years of elevated inflation, families are feeling pinched more than ever. Overall, for example, parents spend a significant portion of their annual income on child-related expenses. Nationwide, families spend 19% of their annual income on child-rearing expenses, online lending marketplace LendingTree said.
“Ideally, you’d be able to keep childcare costs to 10% or less of your total income,” said Matt Schulz, LendingTree chief credit analyst. “But that’s laughably unrealistic for millions of Americans.”
How expensive is childcare?
On average, childcare costs $1,031 a year more than public college tuition, NetCredit said.
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NetCredit examined the average annual fees paid for public in-state college tuition and the average cost of childcare in each state and calculated the difference between…
