U.S. households' child care payments averaged 8% of pay in Bank of America data for September, while a federal price measure combining school fees and child care rose faster than rent.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) reported that its combined consumer price index category for tuition, other school fees and child care was up 3.8% over the 12 months through September. Rent rose 2.8% over that period. In separate categories, day care and preschool increased 3.1%, while medical care services rose 2.5%.
A Bank of America Institute report dated Oct. 20 found that, among households in its data paying for child care, 7.7% spent more than $2,000 per month in 2026 to date, more than twice the share in 2023. In September, the median payment was 1% higher than a year earlier, while the number of households with child care payments was 1% lower.
The institute said the decline could reflect several changes: families may have reduced paid care, relied more on relatives, rearranged work schedules or had a parent leave work to care for a child. Payments represented an average 8% of household pay in September. The share was 8.6% among lower- and middle-income households, compared with 7.3% for higher-income households. Older Millennials accounted for 52% of households paying for care in the institute’s data.
Nashville, Tennessee, led the institute’s city comparison for annual growth in median child care payments; Jacksonville, Florida, and Phoenix, Arizona, ranked next. In an interview with CBS News, Bank of America Institute economist Taylor Bowley linked added demand in those cities partly to domestic migration.
The institute also reported that child care services employment was 0.7% lower year over year in September. It said a smaller workforce may restrict providers’ ability to offer places or operating hours. The analysis uses aggregated information from selected Bank of America accounts, and the institute cautioned that its sample may have selection bias and other limitations.
