US Daycare Costs "Ridiculous" Compared To Other Countries

US Daycare Costs "Ridiculous" Compared To Other Countries



US Daycare Costs Are "Ridiculous" Compared To Other Countries
BY ASHLEY WEHRLIPUBLISHED SEP 28, 2020


The cost of daycare in the US is astonishing, but how much is it compared to other countries? Find out here.


Daycare is an essential service for a lot of parents out there; they need it to be able to work. The problem sometimes ends up being that they are working to pay for childcare. Most of their pay check ends up going to the daycare provider, and the cost just keeps going up in the US. However, the price of childcare varies by country and some countries are not paying nearly as much, and it hurts.

According to Parents, a conversation unfolded on Reddit about how much daycare costs in different countries, and the differences were shocking. First, let’s look at the average cost of daycare in the US. The average family pays about $215 a week, which means that a lot of families are spending $10,000 a year on daycare. That works out to be about 10% of a lot of their annual income. This cost, of course, varies by state as well. And that 10% is not based on everyone's salary.
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One Reddit user from France added to the conversation, and they said that they spend the equivalent of $580.80 every month; again, remember this is against the roughly $700 a month American’s spend. If France seems affordable, wait until you hear about Finland.


Finland, like all Nordic countries, is known for their wonderful way of life and daycare is no exception. One woman said that when her husband had a job that didn’t pay very well, they didn’t have to pay anything for daycare. Now that her husband is earning a bit more, they pay less than $350 a month, and that is for two children! A member from Sweden chimed in and said they only pay $35 for their child.

This information can frustrate a lot of Americans who cannot understand why they have to pay so much for daycare, and the answer is quite simple. Childcare in the states is usually private, and all responsibility for raising a child will usually always fall on the parent. In other parts of the world, daycare is a public service and the government is there to help parents out.