why people pay the higher prices - location, availability (sometimes it’s hard to find a spot and that’s all there is), feel and fit (ultimately comes to whether you like the place for your kid)

This really depends on what your definition of quality is. A larger chain daycare may cost a lot because they are renting space in a flashy storefront on the Wharf, having to spend lots on cleaning and catering contracts, insurance, and subscriptions for fancy apps like Brightwheel. A large center needs a lot of teachers, so it's more likely that they are paid hourly and have the minimum educational requirements so that the center can save on wages/benefits.

Smaller centers may have lower rent and overhead costs, but spend more on salaries and benefits as a teacher quality and retention strategy. They may choose to employ teachers with higher credentials--BAs or MAs in early childhood education. As others have said before, there is not a high profit margin in this industry.

The newly implemented minimum salary requirements for child care lead teachers ranges from around $54K to $75K, and $43K to $54K for assistants, depending on highest credential earned. It's also worth noting that the early childhood educator pay equity program is providing supplemental funding directly to centers to help meet these new minimums.

Don’t go off daycare reviews and do a trial day before you pick a center.

Anonymous wrote:Daycare's are not high margin businesses. You pay more for location and staffing. The center will generally be more convenient and pay more. The pay difference allows them to be choosier about who they hire and to retain workers longer. I'm not saying you can't have great worker in cheaper daycares, I'm just saying that it's less likely

This is true to an extent but OP is noting that the more expensive centers are big chains. They are high margin businesses and pay a nice profit to their investors. https://newrepublic.com/article/168322/child-care-daycare-private-equity-for-profit

Anonymous wrote:IMO, yes.

My oldest two went to a Winwood (oldest at age 2 & younger at age 4 months). Winwood is set up like a school more than a daycare. They have set learning time and playtime. My youngest could communicate via sign language way before he could speak. My oldest started learning Spanish shortly after starting there. They are both very strong academically and had zero issues transitioning from pre-k to K.

My youngest was watched by a good friend at her home daycare that she started after she quit teaching after having her 2nd kid. She tried to do structured learning time mixed with playtime but there was 1 of her and 5 total kids, soooo. My youngest has struggled the most academically. He also had a hard transition from daycare to pre-k and pre-k to K.

My kids went to a cheap daycare. I guess you could consider it Spanish emersion if you want to be kind. One of them did go to an emersion elementary school and did great.

When I was pregnant with DD we looked at a lot of different centers. We considered in-home daycares but didn't really tour any in part because their hours were much shorter and we weren't sure it would work for us (looking back, it would have been fine).

The center we chose was probably one of if not the cheapest center we found. While the cost was not the main factor, it was definitely a benefit. Location was a big factor. Also, when I toured, the teachers looked happy and engaged with the kids. The classroom was not fancy but was well organized and attractive. At some of the more expensive centers I toured, the teachers looked kind of miserable. In general, for infant care I did not see a big difference explaining the cost differences apart from the facilities. One of the expensive centers did have a separate nap room which may have been nice but at the same time, DD was never a good napper at home or at school.

The center we landed at has very good ratios, much more than the licensing requirements. The teacher turnover has been very low with the exception of the 2021-22 school year which I think was rough everywhere. They taught sign language for the babies which was fun. Were super helpful when DD was late to talk and with some other special needs that came up.

For older ages the more expensive centers often include specials like soccer/music/etc. I can see the benefit of that but we kind of like taking DD to activities and choosing ones that really interest her.

We did use an in-home daycare briefly during our center's pandemic closure and it was fine, but it was in a cluttered, cramped space and had only one teacher for 8 kids. Obviously this is not a generalization about all in-homes. Teacher was lovely but DD was much happier going back to her center with a more organized space and better ratios.

Daycare's are not high margin businesses. You pay more for location and staffing. The center will generally be more convenient and pay more. The pay difference allows them to be choosier about who they hire and to retain workers longer. I'm not saying you can't have great worker in cheaper daycares, I'm just saying that it's less likely

Anonymous wrote:IMO, yes.

My oldest two went to a Winwood (oldest at age 2 & younger at age 4 months). Winwood is set up like a school more than a daycare. They have set learning time and playtime. My youngest could communicate via sign language way before he could speak. My oldest started learning Spanish shortly after starting there. They are both very strong academically and had zero issues transitioning from pre-k to K.

My youngest was watched by a good friend at her home daycare that she started after she quit teaching after having her 2nd kid. She tried to do structured learning time mixed with playtime but there was 1 of her and 5 total kids, soooo. My youngest has struggled the most academically. He also had a hard transition from daycare to pre-k and pre-k to K.

Parents believing that their young children need these things is precisely why daycare is astronomical these days.

For us we luckily could afford the $2500 (years ago) infant price at a center for location alone. We made sure care was acceptable but location and how it fit into our lives was paramount. So for priorities, Iwould go with a) affordability (for you, may vary) b) location/convenience/how it fits into your life and commute and c) program/curriculum.

IMO, yes.

My oldest two went to a Winwood (oldest at age 2 & younger at age 4 months). Winwood is set up like a school more than a daycare. They have set learning time and playtime. My youngest could communicate via sign language way before he could speak. My oldest started learning Spanish shortly after starting there. They are both very strong academically and had zero issues transitioning from pre-k to K.

My youngest was watched by a good friend at her home daycare that she started after she quit teaching after having her 2nd kid. She tried to do structured learning time mixed with playtime but there was 1 of her and 5 total kids, soooo. My youngest has struggled the most academically. He also had a hard transition from daycare to pre-k and pre-k to K.

It depends. Ours is on the same expensive side and here are positives we've found. Not saying lower cost centers don't have this, but worth asking about anywhere:
- low turnover (lot of teachers who've been there for 5-10+ years)
- teachers are guaranteed their schedule (not sent home early / not paid for time if there is low kid attendance)
- good coverage - they rarely seem to be right "at ratio"
- staff have benefits including health insurance and PTO
- they don't seem that harried - easy to talk to teachers at pickup and dropoff, get a good vibe overall

We also have a "fancy app" (that we don't pay extra for) which is great for updates throughout the day.

I think it also comes down to what you "value". We've lived in both DC and VA and found amazing daycares in both that were significantly cheaper than most places. A lot of the more expensive centers have fancy apps or extracurricular programs (that oddly enough you have to pay extra for) that was not as important to me. I didn't think my 11 month old needed a STEM workshop or piano lessons. I just wanted a clean, secure, caring environment for my babies. As they got older, I wanted places that allowed them to play while fostering their natural curiosity and learning.

In summary, no I don't think high cost always equates great quality.

It's kind of hard to know unless you've tried all of them, and most people haven't. I never got the impression that there is an actual difference in quality of care. I think the centers are often more expensive because of rent/facility, and personnel costs. Like PP said convenience is a factor in paying for a center (they often have longer hours and better sick coverage for employees), and some people are more comfortable with them for various reasons. I also think it's pretty easy to get charmed by a big beautiful facility as opposed to a shabbier, older place, and that's understandable.

I think yes and no. There's an element of you get what you pay for, but it's not fully straightforward. Also a lot of the price can come down to convenience (location and available hours). If you're flexible, there's no need to pay for that.

Expectant FTM currently exploring all routes: big centers (i.e. Bright Horizons), smaller centers (not huge corporation chains), and (licensed) home daycares. I am seeing rates of $3200+ for the first, $2200+ for the second, and $1600+ for the third. I am happy to pay for quality but these price differences feel absurd. Is there generally a difference in quality with each step up cost-wise? If not, why are people paying out the nose for big centers?