The National Child Care Resource and Referral Association released a report today that places Oklahoma in the middle of states regarding the cost of care for an infant, four-year-old and school-age child. Nationally, the report said that the rate of child care is increasing at a faster rate than inflation.
The report, which provides prices of child care for infants and for four-year-olds in centers and family child care homes nationwide, detailed that for a year, the average price of full-time center care for one infant and one four-year-old child increased an average of 6.5 percent and 5.2 percent, respectively, almost twice the rate of inflation.
According to the report, in 2007, in Oklahoma the average price of full-time care for an infant in a center was $6,029 a year. For a four-year-old, parents paid up to $5,277 a year for full-time care. Parents of school-age children paid up to $3,915 a year for part-time care in a center.
Additionally, the report also found that average prices for full-time care for an infant in a family child care home were as much as $5,392, $4,439 for a four-year old, and $3,901 for a school-age child.
A single-earning household paying for infant care in a center could expect to spend almost 37 percent of their salary and a two-income household could pay 11 percent.