Parents are spending nearly $20,000 a year on child care. Most NYC parents with young children (60 percent) are paying for child care — with average month- ly out-of-pocket costs for care for all children under six of $1,621, the equivalent of $19,452 a year. However, higher-income families are more likely to pay for child care and, when they do, face higher monthly out-of-pocket costs, though not necessarily as a share of household income. Families in the highest-income bracket of greater than 85 percent of state median income, or roughly $116,000 for a family of four, pay $2,416 on average, while families below 100 percent of the federal poverty level or $33,000 for a family of four are paying $893 on average a month. Out-of-pocket costs are highest for parents with the youngest children. Parents whose youngest child is not yet one are spending nearly three times what parents whose youngest is five are spending on child care in a typical month — $2,395 on average compared to $818 (Figure 9). This likely reflects the higher cost of infant care relative to care provided later in early childhood. While survey respondents were not asked how out-of-pocket costs were distributed across different care arrangements, monthly spending could also include fee-based after-school programming and other wraparound care. Out-of-Pocket Child Care Costs for All Children Under 6, by Youngest Child’s Age Figure 9 Figure 9: Costs By Child Age
$2,500 $22,3,39955
$22, 0, 04477
$2,000
1$,71,57454
$1,500
1$, 12, 52 85 8
$99977
$1,000
$881188
$500
$0
Under Age 1
Age 1
Age 2
Age 3
Age 4
Age 5
Notes: Source: Robin Hood Survey of 4,306 parents and caregivers of children ages 0-5 living in New York City; conducted by NORC for New America’s New Prac- tice Lab and Robin Hood, March 31-April 20, 2026. Note: Based on responses of 3,004 parents with out-of-pocket child care costs. Parents were asked to consider any payment for child care they have on a regular basis, beyond costs covered by other sources such as a voucher or 3-K/Pre-K. Responses reflect total monthly household spending for all children under six.
THE 2026 NEW YORK CITY PARENT SURVEY : WHAT CHILD CARE PARENTS WANT 23
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