Washington is the third-most expensive state for childcare for married couples and the sixth-most expensive state for childcare for single parents

Carleen Johnson
The Center Square Washington

Child care is a significant expense for families nationwide, but a new report from personal finance website and app WalletHub finds it especially challenging in Washington state.

“For married couples in Washington, they’re spending between 10% and almost 13% of the median income, depending on whether it’s center-based care or like a home daycare,” Chip Lupo, writer and analyst with WalletHub, said.

That makes Washington the third-most expensive state for childcare for married couples and the sixth-most expensive state for childcare for single parents.

“What’s particularly sobering here is that Washington actually has the ninth-highest median income for married couples, so you would think with an income like that, childcare wouldn’t take such a significant chunk, but it’s extraordinarily expensive in Washington,” he added.

Lupo noted the plight of single parents in the Evergreen State.

“Single parents have it even worse,” he said. “Single-parent income in Washington is still pretty high at almost $44,000 a year on average. But when you’re spending almost a third to more than 40% of that income on childcare, that is a tremendous chunk of change. And that’s assuming you’re only sending one kid; multiply that and you are going to be in a serious budgetary crisis.”

WalletHub found that the states with lower childcare costs generally have a lower cost of living.

“They simply charge less for family-based and center-based care due to lower labor costs,” Lupo explained. “You’ve also got facility costs, and of course, regulatory costs.”

Demand for childcare also drives up the cost.

“In Washington with Seattle, and some of your other urban areas with dual-income households and urban density, that drives demand. So, your lower-cost states may have fewer families competing for those limited childcare slots,” Lupo elaborated. “And think about the family dynamics in a lot of these southern states, where the family structures are different. There are usually tight-knit families that live close together, so there’s always a possibility of having family members look after your children, which sort of reduces the need for childcare or the need to spend as much.”

WalletHub also noted that regulatory requirements in states like Washington inflate child care costs.

“Some states have looser regulations with lower staffing requirements, which, of course, reduce the operational costs for providers. If you’re being gouged with regulations and fees and taxes and licensure requirements, the facility is going to pass that on to the customer,” Lupo said. “Washington has high demand, high wages, and high operating costs, and all of that’s going to push child care prices up despite those pretty high household incomes.”

According to a 2022 Child Care Collaborative Task Force report to the Washington State Legislature, many families struggle to find affordable childcare.

“The percentage of families that reported difficulty finding space in licensed childcare increased dramatically from 22 percent in December 2021 to 58 percent in January 2022,” according to the report. “Without intervention, these gaps in access to high-quality care – and their disproportionate impacts on women – could grow. Licensed childcare programs face significant challenges recruiting and retaining staff in a tight labor market amid competition from retail, hospitality, and service sectors that offer higher wages and benefits.”

This session, the Legislature passed Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill 1648, modifying child care provider qualifications. It aims to address the child care crisis by easing the burden on providers to meet education requirements while maintaining quality standards.

This report was first published by The Center Square Washington.