How much will home daycare cost?

According to the National Association for Family Child Care (NAFCC), pinning down a nationwide average for home daycare costs is difficult. Prices vary depending on the size of the facility, the region, and whether the facility is licensed. Some providers charge almost as much as daycare centers, while others charge very little, especially if they're close friends or neighbors of the families whose children they're caring for. On average, however, home daycares charge about $6,000 a year ($500 a month) for toddlers and $8,400 a year ($700 a month) for infants.

On the higher end, a recent survey of childcare in the Cambridge, Massachusetts, area found that the cost of full-time home daycare ranged from about $12,480 to $18,720 a year. A similar survey by the city of Boulder, Colorado, found that home daycare there cost between $7,800 and $10,400 a year. Debbie Moore, vice president of the NAFCC, suggests that parents call their local CCR&R; in most cases they can give you a range of local prices.