How Much Child Care Actually Costs in Minnesota

There's no denying it, raising a child is expensive. A new study from WalletHub has broken down just how much it costs families in each state to pay for child care. The rankings were then based on what percentage of the median family income in each state went to that child care cost.

Maybe it'll come as a surprise to you, but Minnesota came in pretty much right in the middle. One of our neighbors, though, is one of the most expensive.

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How Much Child Care Costs in Minnesota

To determine these rankings, like I mentioned earlier, WalletHub looked at what percentage of a median families income would go towards child care in each state.

The income was split into two groups: married with dual income and single parent (or single income household).

They also split the child care costs into two groups: family-based child care and center-based child care.

First, let's see where Minnesota ranked in the married with dual income household.

We ranked number 29 on the list. If the child care was family-based, 6.3% of the annual family income went towards child care. If it was center-based, then the number jumped to 12.09%.

As for the single parent/single income households, Minnesota ranked nearly the same, coming in at number 30. If the child care was family-based, 19.93% of the annual household income went to child care. If it was center-based, that number went to 38.27%.

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Wisconsin is One of the Most Expensive States for Child Care

Our neighboring state of Wisconsin, however, ranked as one of the most expensive places for child care. They ranked 6th for married/dual income households and 9th for single parent/single income households.

Here's the quick percentage breakdown in case you're interested:

Dual income - family-based child care - 9.63%

Dual income - center-based child care - 12.93%

Single income - family-based child care - 30.31%

Single income - center-based child care - 40.71%