Study Finds Average Annual Cost of Child Care in Wisconsin is More Than Annual Tuition at UW-Madison

Friday, September 22nd, 2023 -- 8:22 AM

(Bob Hague, WRN) A new study from a non-partisan research group details child care costs for Wisconsin families. 

Kevin Dospoy is deputy director of Forward Analytics, “We're not advocating for any policy one way or the other, but we know that parents need to pay for childcare. We know that childcare is very expensive and parents can't really pay more. Childcare is very expensive and parents can't really pay more. We’re looking at young families paying 18 to 30% of their income on childcare for one to two kids. And that's just not sustainable long term.”

The report (“Priced Out: The Steep Cost of Childcare in Wisconsin”) found the average annual cost of infant child care in Wisconsin in 2021 was $13,572. That’s more than the $10,766 annual tuition at UW-Madison.

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