We know college is expensive, but a new report out shows that sending your child to daycare can be right up there with college.
KRCG's Facebook Crew crunched the numbers to find out if daycare in Mid-Missouri costs as much as college, and they discovered some surprising results.
According to a National Daycare Association, daycare in Missouri cost nearly $9,000 a year.
Tuition at a public college is around $8,000 a year. That's just a thousand less than daycare.
I asked the Jefferson City Daycare Center's executive director what she thought about this, and she told me it was hard to believe.
"I think college is definitely more expensive than childcare, at least right here in our Jefferson City community. But that may be different in you're larger cities,” Jefferson City Daycare Center Executive Director Donna Scheidt said.
Scheidt told me they charge about $140 a week for an infant and $110 for any children over two.
That turns out to be roughly $7,000 a year, which is just a grand less than a year of public college.
So why does daycare cost as much or even more than putting a child through college?
"For infants and toddlers we have to have one staff member for every four children, and that's very expensive. So by the time I pay a salary, plus all my other expenses my rent, utilities, insurance, food, and everything that goes into it. It can be a very expensive project,” Scheidt said.
Scheidt told me it's very important when parents are looking for a daycare that they choose one by the quality of it, not the price.
I also checked with other daycares around Jefferson City and found out that it costs about same as Jefferson City Daycare Center.
So tell us what you think. How much do you pay for daycare?
Preveiw Story:
Does an average year of child care in Missouri cost more than sending your child to college?
Tonight at ten KRCG's Facebook Crew investigates to find out.
So tell us what you think. How much do you pay for daycare?
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