LendingTree says their research has determined that families in South Carolina spend 16% of their income on child care.
The website analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau and the American Community Survey to better understand child care spending across the U.S. They were able to uncover how much American families spend on child care and where child care costs families the most.
Here’s a quick look at what they found:
- South Carolina families spend the 38th-highest percentage of their income on child care
- South Carolina families who pay for child care put an average of 15.8% of their income toward it—$236 a week while earning $1,492
- Families in Nevada spend the highest percentage of their income on child care, putting 32.3% of their income toward child care
- American families who pay for child care spend an average of 18.6% of their income on it
- Families with children younger than 18 earn $1,751 weekly, and those who pay for child care spend $325 a week on it. This is up from 17.8% when LendingTree last published this study in January 2023
- 52.9% of U.S. families who use child care report paying for it
- Families in the District of Columbia are the most likely to rely on paid child care, with nearly 4 in 5 (78.1%) families using child care in the U.S. capital paying for it
