Are you wondering how much it costs for child care across the US? We polled our Twiniversity fans for quotes on daycare and nanny costs in various states.
A parent of twins (plus a singleton) asks…
“I was wondering if by any chance if you had any information on childcare expenses. I have a 21-month-old daughter and the twins are 7 months old and I work, but unfortunately, I do not qualify for any type of financial assistance because I make too much. But honestly, I cannot afford child care, mortgage, etc. Right now I have different family members, including myself and my husband, rotating to take care of the children during the day and I feel its not a stable situation for them.”
Here’s what our community had to say…
Editor’s Note: Please be sure to meet with your tax professional before settling on a budget for your nanny. Nannies are considered full-time employees, not independent contractors, and US law requires that income taxes be withheld from their wages. Here’s a great article outlining the nanny tax process and another article outlining the consequences for not paying nanny taxes. Also, check with your state’s Department of Labor to find out what rights your nanny will have as a domestic worker in terms of the minimum wage, overtime, and other worker’s rights.
Child Care Costs for Twins
– I live in a suburb of Chicago and pay $450 a week for the twins and my 4-year-old at an in-home daycare. I love the woman but it is EXPENSIVE and we are struggling financially because we make too much and a lot of our tax deductions phase out. We have actually considered divorce to save thousands on taxes.
– We have 8 month old twin boys and live in Orange County, California. I’ve been staying home with them but would like to go back to work at some point, however, in home child care would be realistically $2000 – $2500 per month.
– I didn’t try and find a job after the twins were born, decided we were better off if I stayed home with them till they start school. I have taken in kids to watch and I recently took on a set of twins so their mom can go back to work. We live in a rural area, small town and I charge $3/hour/kid, so for the twins and their schedule it is about $55 a day.
– In Brooklyn, NY it is $1900 per child per month ($3800/mo for twins). We can’t afford it either for our 11-week-old twins. My husband may stay home instead…not sure yet…
– Check with local church daycares. Some churches run big daycares and are expensive, but there are somewhere the daycare is more like an outreach ministry than for making a profit. We have our 7 month old twins in an excellent church daycare that is open to the public for $305/week for both which boils down to about $1281 a month. We would be paying about double that for most other daycares in Raleigh, NC.
– I live in the San Diego area and became a SAHM when the twins were born because daycare is so expensive. We have an older daughter and then the twins. Last I inquired about daycare our daughter was 2.5 yrs and the twins were 2-3 mo. *Note some of these prices include a 10% discount for siblings* For 2 days/week it would have been $2155/month for all 3, and for 3 days/week it would have been $2692/mo.
– Here in Denver, daycare averages $2000/mo. for two kids. It’s unreal. I don’t know how anyone affords it. We pay $1600/mo. for 3 days a week and it still breaks the bank. I’ve found that a good nanny costs about the same (especially if you pay taxes). My career is important to me so I’m not going to quit. Just have to keep juggling and hoping it all works out.
– It would be $600 a week in the suburbs of Chicago for our two girls in daycare. I ended up resigning because it didn’t seem worth it but it is certainly hard to find what’s right for your family and your finances. I still don’t know if it was the best decision for us all but I am happy to be home with them and that they have the consistency too. I hear care.com is a great resource. Good luck!
– $740 per week for 1-year-old twins plus a preschooler in daycare in Northern Virginia. I have heard Au Pairs can be a cheaper option too.
– $14 an hour for in-home nanny for twins in San Diego. That is the cheap end of the range.
– Upstate NY. $400/week for two toddlers. Crazy expensive.
– It’s insane, isn’t it? I have no real advice for you, in that I have not found a solution. My husband and I both have evening hours, so traditional daycare isn’t even an option. Our situation is complicated, but it sort of boils down to me not being able to afford to work full time. So I have opted for part time, but the childcare costs still are killing us. Out that on top of the hospital bills and “first year” type expenses… it’s like a hole you can’t get out of. Sometimes it feels like we are barely treading water.
– $800 a month for both of my twin girls to be in daycare in Louisiana.
– Also be careful with in-home nannies because they can trigger household employee taxes. These are additional taxes you pay and can add thousands to the cost.
– I’m an in-home childcare provider in West Tennessee and I charge $25 per day per child for drop-in and part time (2-3 days per week) and $100 per week for full time (4-5 days per week).
– I live in Tennessee. We have a lady that watches our twins plus after school care for our son and we pay $700 a month.
How Much Does a Good Nanny Cost?
– I had a very brief time with a nanny, and it was awesome because they would also help with keeping the house in order, baby laundry, etc. Plus, you aren’t exposing your kids to weird things that aren’t under your control that you would at a daycare center.
– In the metro Detroit area I paid about $425/week for child care. I had a nanny while I worked, then moved to PT nanny/preschool. It is definitely expensive! Just something that we planned for when we were deciding to have kids.
– A nanny can be cheaper!
– I pay $15/hour for a nanny out of our home in Los Angeles. Best deal I could find. 3-month-old twins.
– I’d keep them at home. At least with a nanny, they’ll be in a familiar environment without a bunch of other kids.
– We live in a small town in Southern Wisconsin. One of our daycare centers in town charges $6.00 per hour per child. So full-time it is about $1920 per month. We found an in-home daycare that charges $3.00 per hour per child. I only work part-time so we don’t need full-time care. We have had daycare since 6 months at this rate. The boys are 23 months now.
– I’m in Cleveland suburbs. Daycare facilities run about $220/week (+/- $20ish) for infants, $200 toddler+ with 10% discount for additional kids.
– I live in a suburb of Philadelphia and I pay $600/week for my 5-month-old twin boys at a daycare. That includes diapers and wipes. There are a few others in the area that are $250-275/week per kid.
-I live in Chicago and I was looking into hiring an au pair. It was cheaper than a daycare center or a nanny, but the problem is we don’t have an extra bedroom to host an au pair. You need to have a room that is just for the au pair or you can’t consider it. The upfront cost was $6,000-8,000 to get started but the weekly fee was less than $300. If we lived in the burbs and had more space I would have seriously considered it.
In-home Care vs. Daycare Center
– Remember a lot of times when you do day care even if they go 2-3 days a week if you do an in-home day care you still are going to pay full-time rate because you are taking up spots. This comes in handy though for a day to yourself, to do errands, etc.
– Our boys did great with a nanny full time when they were babies, but at 2 years old we switched to part time day care (3 mornings a week) and the rest of the time an in-home nanny. It’s really working out great! They were having some slight speech delays by their 2 year checkup but within about a month you could really see the difference from being around other kids. They are also learning so much more at day care, but then they have the comfort of being at home. One issue was naps — they didn’t nap well at the center because they weren’t there often enough. Now they nap at home every day, leaving the center right after lunch.
– I’m there with you, but I have a 3 year old singleton, 16 month g/g twins, and one due in January. My husband is a stay at home dad, but I think we need to get our oldest into daycare or preschool so she has some alone time. I know its gonna be crazy.
– I would have someone come to your home. They will probably do better at home than in daycare. Every kid is different. Mine did better at home.
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