DAYTON — A new study claims that the average annual income needed to meet the affordability threshold for two kids in the United States is almost $500,000 a year.
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In Ohio, the average annual child care cost for two kids is more than $25,000, according to LendingTree. That is about $5,000 more than it was in 2020.
“Life is just really, really expensive in 2026, and doesn’t seem to be getting any less so,” Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s Chief Consumer Finance Analyst. “So it makes for a really, really big challenge for the average household in Ohio and around the country.”
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The U.S. Census Bureau determined the average Ohio household income in 2023 was about $130,000, but LendingTree said a family would need more than $360,000 per year to comfortably afford child care for two kids.
Schulz said that is not realistic for most Americans, leading a lot of parents to stay home with kids or look for outside help.
“There are places that they can go to for assistance with child care, and that there are things that they can look at like dependent care, flexible spending accounts, and child tax credits,” Schulz said. “And that sort of thing that can relieve some of the burden of this, but it all adds up to a really difficult situation.”
He added that until the number of child care centers increases, the trend will continue.
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