Many U.S. families with children pay just as much for child care as they pay for rent, according to new data from the U.S. Labor Department.
The department found that annual prices for full-day care for one child range from about $6,500 to $15,000.
To put this into perspective, the median cost of rent for one year was just over $15,000 in 2022.
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The Labor Department said in nearly every county it looked at, child care prices were high in comparison to family income, potentially pricing many families out of paid child care.
More than 13.6 million parents rely on paid caregivers. Despite the high cost, workers at child care centers receive relatively low wages.
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