Report: Costs to raise 2 kids in Indiana nearly 2 times the cost of housing
(WISH) — Indiana is one of a handful of states where child care costs last year in Indiana were two times the average cost of rent, says a report from Child Care Aware of America.
Child care often exceeds all other household expenses, the report on affordability in Indiana notes.
The annual child care price for two children — an infant and 4-year-old — at a center was estimated to be $23,157 in Indiana. The housing cost for that same household in Indiana was listed as $15,612.
The report also says that, in Indiana, the annual cost to care for a child at home was $8,845 for an infant and $8,313 for a toddler. For center-based child care, the Indiana cost rose to $13,736 for an infant and $11,965 for a toddler.
The nonprofit Child Care Aware of America said in a news release, “Child care is so expensive that it takes 10% of a married couple with children’s median household income or 32% of a single parent with children’s median household income to afford a year of child care at the average national price.”
Arlington, Virginia-based Child Care Aware of America touts itself as the nation’s leading voice on child care issues.