By Ella Vincent
From Kiplinger’s Personal Finance
For many parents of young children, child care represents one of the largest items in their household budget. The average cost of child care was more than $11,500 in 2023, according to an analysis by Child Care Aware, a nationwide network of child-care referral agencies. In some high-cost cities, parents are spending more on child care than they are on their rent or mortgage payments.
