BUFFALO, N.Y. — Any parent knows that paying for childcare is not cheap, and a new study is putting the costs in perspective.
The Economic Policy Institute discovered care for an infant costs, on average, more than $15,000 per year. And the cost doesn't as much once a child turns four-years-old, the average at that age is just over $12,000 a year.
New York State is the sixth most expensive state for childcare in the country, and one of 33 states where infant care costs more than a semester's tuition at a state college.
According to the study, the federal government says childcare is considered affordable if it takes up no more than 7 percent of a family's income. By that standard, less than 10 percent of New York families can afford childcare.
The group wants lawmakers to put a cap on childcare expenses at 7 percent of a family's income, and says that would get more than 90,000 more parents working here in New York and give the economy a $14 billion boost.