Ohio families can easily spend more on child care than they would sending a kid to college, according to an analysis of child care costs by a Washington, D.C. think tank.

For Cuyahoga County families, child care can be the top monthly expense. More than housing, food, transportation or healthcare. 

Infant care averaged $17,071 a year in the state, according to the recent analysis of government data by the Economic Policy Institute. It found the average tuition at a four-year public college in Ohio was $11,110. (The analysis is mostly based on 2023 and 2024 data.) This meant that it cost families nearly 54% more to have paid a provider to look after a baby than it would have cost to have sent a young adult to a post-secondary institution.

Child care isn’t just about kids. It’s a workforce issue. It’s not just families who feel the impact — businesses and the economy do, too.”

Thea Wilson, vice president of children and families at Step Forward, which runs Head Start programs.

The analysis ranked the 50 states and the District of Columbia by monthly infant care costs. At $1,423, Ohio ranked 16th. Monthly costs ranged from a high of $1,893 in Washington, D.C., to $521 in Mississippi.

“[C]hild care is unaffordable for working families everywhere in the country, and it’s even further out of reach for minimum wage workers and the very workers that administer child care,” EPI Senior Economist Elise Gould and Research Assistant Katherine deCourcy wrote on epi.org about their analysis.

The analysis used data from several government agencies, including the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau.

Gov. Mike DeWine has proposed tax credits and expanding child care assistance for families

Access to affordable child care, a concern for decades, has emerged as a pressing issue in the post-pandemic economy. At his March 12 State of the State address, Gov. Mike DeWine proposed a $1,000 refundable child tax credit for low-income families. He also wants to expand the eligibility for child care assistance to more working-class and even some middle-class families. The state legislature will have to approve his proposals.

It costs more for families to send a child to childcare in Ohio than to a public college or university, according to report by the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. In this photo, a preschool girl wearing a green t-shirt reads a book.
It costs more for families to send a child to child care in Ohio than to a public college or university, according to report by the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. In this photo, a Head Start student in Step Forward’s early childhood education program reads a book. Credit: Photo courtesy of Step Forward

Child care is the highest monthly cost for Cuyahoga County Families

During the pandemic, many child care workers left for better-paying jobs in other fields. While things have improved, staffing shortages persist, leading to fewer slots for children. For example, Step Forward, which runs Head Start programs, has a waitlist of more than 600 children in Cuyahoga County. As a result, more than 20 classrooms remain closed. The nonprofit currently serves 1,705 children.

With more employers ending remote work policies, demand for child care will most likely increase. This creates an additional expense for families already struggling with stubborn inflation, as consumer anxiety about increasing inflation soars.

EPI’s Family Budget Calculator shows how paying for child care often dwarfs other costs for a Cuyahoga County family of four. The calculator assumes the family pays $1,842 for child care for a  4- and 8-year-old. See family budget costs in the chart below.

chart visualization

Thea Wilson, Step Forward’s vice president of children and families, said that the high cost of child care or early childhood education affects more than the families relying on it. 

Some parents are forced to quit jobs, Wilson has found in her nearly 50 years in the business.

“Child care isn’t just about kids,” she wrote in an email to Signal Cleveland. “It’s a workforce issue. It’s not just families who feel the impact — businesses and the economy do, too.”

Childcare can cost more than college in Ohio, according to a recent report by the Economic Policy Institute. This photo shows a Head Start teacher working with three students.
It can cost a family more to send a child to child care in Ohio than to a public college, according to a report by the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. This is a photo of a Head Start class in Step Forward’s early childhood education program. Credit: Photo courtesy of Step Forward

Child care often costs several times more than what many Ohio families can pay

The EPI analysis found that only 8% of Ohio families can afford infant care, based on the more than $17,000 cost. The analysis defines affordability as child care costing no more than 7% of family income. Infant care  consumes about 18% of the typical Ohio family’s annual income, which the analysis puts at about $96,000.

EPI’s analysis also looked at child care costs for 4-year-olds nationally and  found them to be budget-straining. In Ohio, the cost is $13,426, or more than 17% higher than public college tuition.

Early Matters NEO, a group of child care, business and other leaders, is continuing to assess Northeast Ohio’s child care landscape in hopes of devising solutions that address high costs and a lack of available seats. An Early Matters NEO survey last year of more than 400 Cuyahoga County parents with children under 5 found that 55% couldn’t find affordable child care and 78% had accessibility issues, including finding an opening.

Nancy Mendez, one of the group’s members and chief executive officer of Starting Point, which helps connect families to child care, said Early Matters NEO has been interviewing employers throughout the county about the child care needs of their employees. They also want to know what employers are doing to address these needs.

“In the coming months, we hope to better connect with these employers and harness their interest in child care to identify areas for collaboration,” she wrote in an email to Signal Cleveland.

It costs more for families to send a child to childcare in Ohio than to a public college or university, according to report by the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. A woman holds a young child in this photo.
It costs more for families to send a child to child care in Ohio than to a public college or university, according to a report by the Economic Policy Institute, a Washington, D.C.-based think tank. This is a photo of a Head Start class in Step Forward’s early childhood education program. Credit: Photo courtesy of Step Forward

Has Governor DeWine done enough to help families with child care costs?  

The $1,000 refundable child tax credit DeWine proposed this year is for parents holding a full-time minimum wage job. A refundable tax credit means filers can get a refund even if they don’t owe any taxes. Qualifying parents can receive the $1,000 tax credit for each child up to 6 years old.

DeWine also wants to continue the Child Care Choice Voucher program, which he first announced in his 2024 State of the State address. Families making up to 200% of the poverty level, which is about $62,000 for a family of four, qualify for the vouchers.

In a March 12 post on X, DeWine wrote that expanding voucher eligibility had worked. 

“This program has been around for only 10 months, but already 5,100 more families and 7,700 more children are getting the childcare they need!” he wrote.

DeWine also proposed increasing family income eligibility in the publicly funded child care system to 160% of the federal poverty level, which is about $51,000 for a family of four. (It had previously been 145%.)

Heather Smith, a researcher at Policy Matters Ohio, the Cleveland-based nonprofit research organization, testified March 6 on the bill that includes DeWine’s child care proposals. She said his plan “would make tens of thousands more children in Ohio eligible for high-quality, affordable childcare.”

Smith said while Policy Matters supports the governor’s plan, the organization would like for the income level to be raised to 300% of poverty, which is about $96,000 annually for a family of four.

Lynanne Gutierrez, president and CEO of Columbus-based Groundwork Ohio, a nonprofit public-policy research and advocacy organization, also testified in favor of DeWine’s proposal. She said that having affordable child care “ensures that more parents remain in the workforce.” 

Both Mendez and Wilson like that DeWine is working on making more help available to Ohio families, but they say even more must be done to lower child care costs. For example, Mendez said expanding public-private partnerships is essential to creating more affordable child care. 

Wilson said the many low-income and working-class families Head Start serves need more than child care assistance.

“Families need comprehensive support,” Wilson wrote. “A tax credit could be a helpful piece of the puzzle, but families need long-term solutions that address not only financial burdens but also the structural barriers that keep them from getting ahead.”

Mendez said finding lasting solutions to the child care crisis will include bringing many people together.

“It will take every person at the table — from private, public and non-governmental sectors — to tackle the affordability crisis in child care and ensure Ohio parents can work, children can learn, and our communities can thrive,” she wrote.

Economics Reporter (she/her)
Economics is often thought of as a lofty topic, but it shouldn’t be. My goal is to offer a street-level view of economics. My focus is on how the economy affects the lives of Greater Clevelanders. My areas of coverage include jobs, housing, entrepreneurship, unions, wealth inequality and pocketbook issues such as inflation.