Rhode Island Among Most Expensive For Child Care Nationwide, New Report Says

Child care is pricey no matter where you go in the country, but it's particularly expensive in Rhode Island. The Ocean State ranks seventh in the U.S. in child care costs for married couples, according to a new study from the personal finance website WalletHub.

Nationwide, couples could spend as much as over 13% of their income on child care, while a single parent could have to shell out roughly 51%, according to WalletHub’s research.

“It costs a lot of money to take care of a child’s needs, and many parents are left with the dilemma of whether to forgo one salary to do their own child care for the first few years or to shell out a significant chunk of their income for child care services," Chip Lupo, WalletHub analyst, said.

Rhode Island married couples spend a median of 11% of their income on center-based child care, the study found. Couples also spend a median of 10% of their income for family-based child care.
For single parents in Rhode Island, the cost burden is even higher. Rhode Island ranked fifth-highest in the country for expenses for single parents, with single parents paying a median of 39% of their income on center-based child care.

"Despite the hefty price tag, paying for child care is often unavoidable. Due to increases in the cost of living and shifts in gender roles over the years, households in which both parents work are commonplace," WalletHub wrote. "In fact, both parents are employed in 66.5% of families with children, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and as a result, child care is an essential service for millions of families in the U.S. It’s also a necessity for single parents who don’t have the option to leave children with a partner during the day. "

Here are the top 10 most expensive states for child care for couples:

1. New York
2. New Mexico
3. Washington
4. Oregon
5. Vermont
6. California
7. Rhode Island
8. Hawaii
9. Colorado
10. Massachusetts

Check out the full analysis at WalletHub.

The news wasn't any better for Massachusetts in a Lending Tree study earlier this year, which found it led the country in the cost of raising a child.