With fertility rates hitting historic lows and average childcare costs breaking the bank, a new poll shows that normally polarized Americans at least agree on one thing: child care costs are a major issue.
According to the AP-NORC poll results released this week, 76% of the 1,158 adults polled last month said the cost of childcare is a major problem. Democrats (83%), independents (74%), Republicans (70%), men (69%) and women (83%) all agreed on the matter.
Last November, the U.S. Department of Labor estimated that U.S. families spend 8.9% to 16% of their median income on full-day day care for just one child. Annual prices for that day care service ranged$6,552 to $15,600 as of 2022.
“Even part-day care for school-aged children (e.g., before and after school care) comprises 8.1% to 9.4% of median family income: From $5,943 up to $9,211 for just one child,” said the Department of Labor. “To put this into perspective, the median cost of a year’s worth of rent was $15,216 in 2022.”
Even though child care is a major cost for the millions of families who rely on it, the Department of Labor pointed out that childcare providers still operate financially on the margins, and workers actually receive relatively low wages.
Lower percentages of those who responded to the AP-NORC poll said that fertility treatments costs, risks of pregnancy and childbirth and declining birth rates were major issues than those who said child care costs were a problem.
Per the U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the fertility rate in the U.S. dropped to a historic low last year, down 3% compared to 2022. Within the next decade, the number of deaths in the country every year is expected to exceed the number of births, according to the Congressional Budget Office. However, just 12% of those polled said that encouraging families to have more children should be a high priority.
AP-NORC noted that Vice President JD Vance has pushed pronatalist policies in hopes of reversing the United States’ falling birth rate, and PolitiFact noted this week that the recently passed spending legislation includes a $1,000 “baby bonus” that was once supported by Democrats. At the same time, some experts have warned that the legislation overall might funnel wealth to older, already-well off Americans rather than children born to low-income families.
Only 33% of the AP-NORC poll respondents said they would support a $5,000 baby bonus for mothers. Not quite half of those who participated in the poll supported helping families pay for childcare or making it easier for parents to leave the workforce to care for children. Most (67%) supported requiring employers to pay family leave for new parents, and 64% supported providing free low-cost daycare for young children before public school. While 55% supported improving health outcomes for pregnant women, just 46% supported requiring insurance to cover fertility treatments.
“More women than men and more Democrats than Republicans say the cost of childcare, fertility treatments, and maternal health risks are major problems,” AP-NORC explained. “Concern for declining birth rates does not differ significantly by gender or partisanship.”
A 45% plurality of poll respondents said they think that children are better off when at least one parent stays home to raise them. Of those, 56% said it could be either parent, 41% said it should be mothers and 2% said it should be fathers.
Parents of human children aren’t the only ones concerned about the high cost of parenting. Earlier this year, Audacy reported on the rising costs of pet parenthood.