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Childcare Rates in Phoenix Nearly Match Rent

A national trend is now being reflected in the Phoenix area according to a report from HotPads. A recent analysis has found that people who are renting their home in Phoenix and have young children, are spending almost the same amount on child care as they are on rent.

According to the HotPads report, childcare is costing an average of $1,315 per month, coming just shy of the median monthly rent, currently $1,470 per month. That is only a small difference of $155. Although these numbers are slightly lower than both the national median rent payment of $1,500 and average childcare costs of $1,385, the trend is following what has been seen in other metro areas as well.

The analysis also found that more than a dozen of the metro areas examined in fact had average monthly child care costs that exceeded the median rent payments for the area. Childcare costs exceeded average rent by $255 in the Pittsburgh, making it the most expensive city for childcare when considering the median rent costs.


Over the past year, rent costs nationwide have risen by nearly 2.3 percent, and child care costs rose approximately 1.3 percent. Although there are markets where monthly rent amounts maintain their stride well ahead of child care costs, residents in those cities with young children can still expect to spend about half of one month’s rent on childcare services. This includes cities such as San Jose, Los Angeles, and San Francisco.

In addition to overall rising costs for rentals, the analysis also discovered another trend. The cost of rent for two- and three-bedroom rentals are rising much more quickly than rent for a one-bedroom unit. The median rent for one-bedroom units rose an average of almost 2 percent over the last year but the media rent for two- and three-bedroom rentals increased by nearly 3 percent.

Joshua Clark, and economist at HotPads said, “As rents and child care costs march steadily higher, keeping up with these rising costs may be one of many factors keeping parents up at night,”, adding that “Rent appreciation has slowed from recent highs, but as the economic recovery matures, child care costs will likely continue to rise,” and “For renters with young children in child care, that means any potential savings from softer rent appreciation could quickly be eroded by higher childcare expenses.”

The analysis was conducted using Care.com’s Care Index and data from the U.S. Census Bureau.