Daycare cost calculator
Programs quote a weekly rate. Families budget by the month. Between the two sit registration fees, supply fees, and the weeks you pay for whether or not you use them — this puts all of it in one number.
Use the rate on the program's own sheet. Registration and supply fees are usually annual, not monthly — the calculator treats them that way.
What this care costs your family
$15,250
per year, all in
- Tuition per week
- $300.00
- Tuition per month (annual ÷ 12)
- $1,271
- Annual fees
- $250
- Cost per child per year
- $15,250
- Cost per care day (5-day week)
- $60.00
Why the quoted rate is never the bill
A $300 weekly rate is $15,600 over a full year of care, not $1,200 a month — the arithmetic most people do in their head. Fifty-two weeks divided by twelve is 4.33, and the third of a week is the part that surprises the budget in month three.
Then the fees. Registration is usually annual and usually per child. Supply or activity fees are the same. Neither is large on its own, and together they routinely add a fortnight of tuition to the year.
Paid holidays are still paid
Most programmes close for a set number of days a year and charge for them, and most charge full tuition when a child is off sick or on holiday. Set the weeks field to the weeks you are billed for, not the weeks you attend.
What the national picture actually says
The authoritative source for US childcare prices is the Department of Labor Women's Bureau National Database of Childcare Prices, which publishes county-level prices by provider type and age of child. It currently covers 2008 through 2022 — 2022 is the most recent price year published.
That matters when you read a headline. A 2022 median presented as today's figure is three years stale, and childcare prices have not been flat. Use the database for structure — how much more infant care costs than preschool, how much centres cost above homes — and use local quotes for the level.
The levers that actually move it
Age is the biggest one. Infant care costs more everywhere because the ratio is tighter — a room of four infants needs the same teacher as a room of ten preschoolers. Moving up an age band is the single largest drop most families see.
Setting is the second. A licensed home programme usually sits below a centre for the same age. Days is the third: many programmes price four days at more than four fifths of five, so a day off is rarely a fifth off.
- Ask whether the sibling discount applies to the older or the younger child — it changes the total.
- Ask what is included: nappies, wipes, meals, and whether the food is charged separately.
- Ask how many closure days are paid, and get the calendar in writing before you enrol.
Sources
- DOL Women's Bureau — National Database of Childcare Pricesfetched 2026-09-04