The cost of infant care in a day care center consumes 15.7 percent of the income of the median two-parent family in the state, the National Association of Child Care Resources & Referral Agencies in Arlington, Va., said in a report released Tuesday.
The average annual cost for infant care -- for a child up to 12 months old -- is $11,200, and when figured as a percentage of the median two-parent family's income of $71,294, it puts Pennsylvania fourth on the list of least affordable states for child care.
In terms of actual average costs, Pennsylvania ranks seventh on the list of costliest states, according to the report based on 2006 prices.
"The cost of child care is out of reach for too many families," said Linda Smith, executive director of the association representing child care referral agencies. She said public subsidies for child care should rise and, "No parent should be forced to choose a poor-quality child care setting just because they can't afford or find anything better."
For single, working parents in Pennsylvania, infant care costs take an even greater toll -- 50.3 percent of their median family income of $22,270, the report said.
Child care costs, in fact, are rising faster than inflation. The report found that average infant care costs rose 6.9 percent from 2005 to 2006.