Child Care Costs More Than In-State College In Texas: Report

Child care isn’t cheap in Texas. According to updated research from the Economic Policy Institute, parents in Texas shell out $9,324 for infant care on average every year or $777 each month.

For parents in Texas, child care is more expensive than in-state tuition at a four-year public college, which is true for more than half the country.

While infant care costs Texas parents just over $9,300, the child-care costs for a 4-year-old is $7,062 or $589 per month, according to the Washington, D.C.-based think tank’s calculations.

By U.S. Department of Health and Human Service standards, infant care is only affordable for 15.8 percent of Texas families. The agency’s standard says that child care if affordable if it costs no more than 7 percent of a family’s income. According to the EPI’s calculations, infant care for one child would take up 15.7 percent of a median family’s income in Texas.

For workers who earn minimum wage, child care is simply out of reach in Texas, the EPI says.

The EPI suggests certain solutions for lowering the costs of child care, including capping child-care expenses at 7 percent. That would save a typical family in Texas $4,941 and would free up more parents to work.

Read the full EPI report here.