Daycare Cost Survey

[Anonymous]

Rockville $2,000 for toddler and $1,800 for 4 year old in the threes class

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Bowie, MD 1200 a month for two kids ages 3 and 4

For both kids? Or 1200 each?

Yes, for both kids.

That’s crazy ... is that some sort of discount?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I’m SAHM thinking of going back to work. I’m trying to figure out how much salary I need to make it financially worth it to work. I have a toddler (17 months) and preschooler (age 4) and no idea how much I should be expecting to pay. I would appreciate it if some of you would post your location and daycare costs for these ages. Thanks!

Gaithersburg. $1700/month for FT for a 3 year old. When she was 17 months it was more like $1900/month.

[Anonymous]

NE DC
Infant daycare: $1900/mo
PreK: free but $350/mo for aftercare and school break care

[Anonymous]

About $1800 a month for a 3 year old in preschool.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:It's not about your salary- it's also about retirement, career progress, etc. Unless you earn minimum wage, it's always beneficial to go back to work.

OP here. Unless I find situation like PP in Bowie, it sounds like most arrangements are going to cost $20-25 an hour. The other PP advised 2k for toddler and 1400 for preschooler. That’s $40,800 a year, hardly minimum wage. It’s a tough decision to go back when a significant fraction of your salary will be eaten up by daycare, taxes, etc.

It’s not cheap, but exiting the workforce makes it harder to find a job down the line, and not working also means you are not contributing to social security, getting a 401(k) match, and in my case a pension. A lot of my salary goes to daycare, but it is still worth it for me. And my kid is super social and learning way more when interacting with other kids in a play-based setting than she would be home solo with me or DH.

Not only that, but those of us who are working are (usually) getting salary increases; you are already giving up your career trajectory and basically starting a significantly lower-paid position than your peers when you return, thus giving up all those years of raises. I am NOT saying raising children isn't important - I'm saying you're giving up more than just your current salary by not returning to the workforce sooner.

[Anonymous]

Fairfax $1900 month for 1 year old.

[Anonymous]

Daycare in NWDC. Kids are in a 2-3s class and their tuition is $2130 / child.

[Anonymous]

4 yr old $2100

[Anonymous]

Bethesda - $2200, 4 year old

[Anonymous]

Arlington, VA
Full-day/year-round preschool
3 yo
~$1870 per month (2 snacks + lunch included)