The title of a late 2024 study from the United States Department of Labor is “Childcare costs remain an almost prohibitive expense.” The study cites annual childcare costs ranging from $5,943 to $15,600. If you make $15 per hour and work 40 hours a week, you have a monthly income of approximately $2,400. But then come monthly expenses:

  • Taxes: $400
  • Rent: $800
  • Food for three people: $600
  • Childcare: $900

If you add up these expenses, they total $2,700, $300 more than the $2,400 monthly pay. And you still have to pay for utilities, phone, transportation, and healthcare!

So what do you do? You don’t work so you can do childcare yourself. You can’t afford to work.

However, the state of Vermont has identified a solution to the high cost of childcare: an 0.44% payroll tax, which has led to many new childcare programs in the state. This has opened up opportunities that weren’t there before. Click here to read more about the statewide program in Vermont that has drastically reduced the cost of childcare.