It’s Time Someone Said It: New Jersey Daycare Costs Are Out Of Control

I have multiple friends in New Jersey who are paying more than $450 a week for daycare. Let that sink in for a second.

That’s roughly $1,800 to $2,000 a month just to have someone watch your kid while you work.

My question is how the actual heck are families supposed to make that work?

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When Daycare Costs More Than Your Mortgage

This is the part that blows my mind. New Jersey already has one of the highest costs of living in the country. We’re talking expensive homes, property taxes, groceries, car insurance and basically everything else.

Now add nearly $2,000 a month in childcare to the budget.

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For a family making around $120,000 a year, that’s not some tiny expense you can just squeeze in. That can completely change whether both parents can afford to work.

And if you don't have grandparents nearby or a giant “village” willing to help? Yeah… Good luck.

New Jersey Parents Say Cost Is Their Biggest Childcare Problem

According to a new survey from Culture Care Au Pair, 65% of New Jersey respondents said cost was their top childcare challenge, the highest percentage among the states surveyed.

That honestly doesn’t surprise me.

At some point, parents start doing the math and asking whether one person's entire paycheck is basically going straight to daycare.

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Something Has Got to Give

I don’t know what the answer is, but something has to change… and fast.

Because having children shouldn’t feel like a luxury expense.

And if you didn’t buy your New Jersey house before COVID? Well… you might already be feeling this one pretty hard.

The question is when will enough be enough? Unless the goal is to turn NJ into the California of the east coast…