Healthy Development Measurement Toolkit

Indicator PI.1.c Average child care costs as a proportion of family budget

Data Source

Average Rates for Full-time Childcare in San Francisco County. Obtained through Regional Market Rate (RMR) Survey of California Child Care Providers. California Department of Education. Accessed online on September 11, 2009:http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/cd/ap/index.aspx.

Household income data from Applied Geographic Solutions, Inc. Spring 2007 Update: Current Year Estimates. Methodology available at: http://www.appliedgeographic.com/library.html.  Data weighted to exclude Golden Gate Park by SFDPH.

Map and table created by San Francisco Department of Public Health, Environmental Health Section using ArcGIS software.

Map data is presented at the level of the census tract, which was calculated by assigning census block data to census tracts based on spatial location. The map also includes planning neighborhood names, in the vicinity of their corresponding census tracts.

Table data is presented by planning neighborhood. While planning neighborhoods are larger geographic areas than census tracts, census tracts do not always lie completely within a planning neighborhood. SFDPH used ArcGIS software and a 'centroids within' methodology to convert census blocks to geographic mean center points. We then assigned census blocks to planning neighborhoods based on the spatial location of those geographic mean center points and calculated the planning neighborhood totals for the table.

http://www.thehdmt.org/etc/Geographic_Units_of_Analysis.pdf

Explanation and Limitations

According to the 2006 Regional Market Rate Survey of CA Child Care Providers, the average monthly cost for infants, 0-24 months old, in a child care center is $1071 (or $12,852/yr); for a preschooler (2-5 years) is $788 (or $9,456/yr); and for a school-age child (5-14 years) is $588 (or $7,056/yr). These averages are slightly lower for family child care homes.  The average monthly costs for infants in a family child care home is $802 (or $9,635/yr); for a preschooler is $734 (or $8.809/yr), and for a school-age child is $591 (or $7,093/yr).  (Accessed online on September 11, 2009: http://www.cde.ca.gov/fg/aa/cd/ap/index.aspx)  

To calculate child care costs as a proportion of household income, a weighted median household income was developed for every census tract and neighborhood excluding Golden Gate Park.  The average costs of child care centers for all three age groups were averaged together to create an estimate of $816 per month or $9788 per year for the average child 0-14 years of age in San Francisco. Map and table only display average child care center costs and not family child care homes due to space limitations and 2/3 of licensed child care slots are available in centers.

Neighborhood averages are intended to demonstrate relative costs of child care to median household incomes.  However, it is acknowledged that the costs of child care vary by type, the availability of subsidies, the number of hours and time of day utilized, language preferences, facility location, and numerous other factors.  Also, some families choose friends and relatives (license-exempt caregivers) to care for their children, and programs for school age children are often not licensed by the state.

Although demand for infant care in San Francisco has increased, availability of infant care is limited.  According to the CA Child Care Resource and Referral network, although 65% of the supply of licensed child care is in centers in California, only 5% of licensed center slots are available for children under two. Both cost and availability of infant care slots have contributed to higher utilization of family child care homes for infant care compared to child care centers.

Nationwide, infant child care tends to cost more than preschool and school-age child care.  The California Child Care Resource and Referral Network calculates that the annual average cost for full-time care for an infant in a licensed center in California is $10,745 ($7,069 in a licensed family child care home). Costs in San Francisco are higher due to higher costs of living.  The authors note that "for a single parent earning minimum wage, center-based care would consume 69% and family  child  care  45%  of  that  salary.  In  34  counties,  the  combined  cost  of housing and infant care exceeds the income of minimum wage earners. In 11 counties,  entry  level  teachers  fnd  that  the  combined  cost  of  housing  and center-based infant care exceeds 80% of their annual income." (2007 Child Care Portfolio Data Highlights, Accessed online on September 11, 2009: http://www.rrnetwork.org/our-research/2007-portfolio.html)

According to a report by the National Association of Child Care Resource and Referral Agencies, California is one of the ten least affordable states in the nation for child care, either in centers or family homes.  [Accessed on September 25, 2009: http://www.naccrra.org/publications/naccrra-publications/parents-and-the-high-price-of-child-care-2009]  The Children's Defense Fund noted that the annual cost for pre-school age child, center-based care in California was $3,025 (or 1.7 times) more expensive than the annual in-state tuition in a four-year public university. (Accessed online on September 22, 2009: http://www.childrensdefense.org/helping-americas-children/early-childhood-education-child-care/) 

Although cost is an important factor in the selection of child care, availability and location are also major considerations for many parents.  According to the 2007 CA Child Care Portfolio, licensed child care is available for 43% of working parents in San Francisco county, which is considerably higher than the statewide average of 27%.  However this figure does not include the thousands of people commuting into SF each day for work, many of whom work in downtown area which is less accessible to child care providers. One recent study estimates that "5% of out-of-county families working in the city who have children 0-5 will use care in the city—an estimated 11,381. Similarly there are San Francisco residents working out-of county who will seek care out-of-county—this 5% equals 7,214 0-5 year olds. The result is a net difference of non-resident demand for San Francisco spaces of 4,167 0-5 licensed slots." (See page 15 of 2007 Child Care Needs Assessment, accessed on September 11, 2009: http://sfcpac.org/publications-reports/)

Why is this a Community Health Indicator?

Substantial research demonstrates that accessible high quality childcare positively affects childhood growth, physical development, and physical health, cognitive, behavioral and school outcomes.^a,b High childcare costs relative to income can either limit accessibility to childcare (potentially reducing family earnings) or limit access to high quality childcare providers.