$37,000.
More than the price of a new Toyota RAV-4 or Subaru Outback, two of the more popular cars I see on the streets of Madison.
Far more than the average rent for a three-bedroom apartment in this fast-growing, rent-spiking city.
More than my family’s mortgage and health insurance costs combined.
Well over half of my $65,000 salary.
$37,000, if you haven’t already guessed, is about how much it’ll cost to send my two kids, aged 1 and 3, to daycare this year.
If you or someone you know has young kids, this probably isn’t news to you.
The Department of Children and Families surveys child care providers across the state each year to assess the going rate for child care in every county and tribal nation. The latest figures, released last week, show the median price for full-time infant care in a child care center — by far the most common place for regulated child care in Wisconsin today — rose 8% since 2025 to $17,400 a year.
That’s nearly a quarter of the median family’s income — and that’s just for one kid.
Families like mine, with two kids still too young for school, often find themselves paying more for child care than for housing.
That’s one reason families are having kids later and having fewer kids, said Jeff Pertl, secretary-designee of the state’s Department of Children and Families, in a call with reporters.
“This is at the heart of this conversation about how people feel like they just can’t afford, not just child care, but all the things in their lives — this sense that Americans are falling further behind,” Pertl said. “This is the first (modern) generation to be worse off than their parents … because things are just so expensive.”
Soon, families could face even higher costs as the state payments that have propped up child care providers for years end this week.
Economists today regularly call child care a broken market because parents are already paying more than they can afford, and child care businesses still can’t afford to pay staff family-sustaining wages. According to DCF, the average wage for a lead child care teacher in Wisconsin is $13.55, less than half the $28.34 average for all Wisconsin workers.
I’ve been reporting on the child care dilemma for years. Now, I want to hear from you. How much of your family’s income goes to child care? How are you managing to pay? Has the cost forced your family to make any difficult decisions? Have you looked into whether you qualify for a subsidy? Email me at nyahr@wisconsinwatch.org or call or text me at (608) 620-5610.
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