Ask Axios: Why is child care so expensive?

Reader Tom K. asks: Why does child care cost so much if the caretakers aren't making decent money?

As a new parent, I've been asking this each time I pay my weekly child care bill.

• Action for Children provided an answer — but it's also a paradox.

How it works: Child care centers make money by enrolling children. But because of staff-to-child ratios set by state law, they must pay for more employees as they enroll more kids.

• The average monthly cost in Ohio for full-time toddler care was $941 as of 2022 . Costs for younger children are typically higher.

Between the lines: It's difficult to find help when workers aren't paid much (median of $14.60 an hour, as of last May 2023 ), so it's also difficult to add more children.

• The cost of supplies, utilities and insurance is also increasing, cutting into centers' razor-thin margins.

What they're saying: "Unfortunately, the only variable that can be maneuvered in this situation is child care tuition," Action for Children spokesperson Christiana Sallard told us. "Yet this also puts child care further out of reach for many families."

The bottom line: External funding support from businesses and governments could help end the cycle of catch-22s, she said.

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