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UDWA News Post

See how much child care costs in each California county

Phillip Reese, Sacramento Bee, April 18

These days, infant child care in California can cost as much as a mortgage.

The average monthly cost to put an infant in a California day care center full time in 2014 was about $1,110 a month, according to the latest data from the California Child Care Resource and Referral Network. That’s up from $940 a month in 2009, a 7 percent rise after adjusting for inflation.

The median income of California families with children is about $64,000. That means more than 20 percent of a typical family’s income would go to child care if they put their newborn in a day care center.

Costs range from a little less than $1,000 a month in some rural counties to around $1,500 a month in the San Francisco Bay Area. But families in poorer parts of the state struggle the most. In Lake County, for instance, a family making the median income would pay more than a third of their gross income each month for child care.

Child care subsidies are available – and widely used. But they are subject to income limits and usually only go to families making less than $50,000 a year.

These maps break down the costs of day care in California by county.