Travis County is the most expensive place in Texas to raise a kid

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TRAVIS COUNTY, Texas — The child care crisis continues to affect Central Texas families. Long waitlists, staffing issues and high prices have left many parents struggling to find care.

The U.S. Labor Department’s Women’s Bureau recently released the National Database of Childcare Prices (NDCP). The data shows Travis County is the most expensive county in Texas to raise a child.

"I think that a lot of people don't understand the consequence of why we see Austin topping the list of thriving economies and best places to live," Cathy McHorse, vice president of Success by 6 at United Way for Greater Austin. "That that also means that we're facing an affordability crisis. And whenever we see challenges, that affordability, that is going to impact the child care system."

In 2022, Travis County parents were paying an average of $11,705 per year for child care.

"It's a market failure," McHorse said. "When we think about its business model ... when we think about the cost of rent or property values, property taxes, those are things that child care and small businesses experience."

Many child care programs also provide meals for young children, so the increased cost of food also impact overall costs.

"Even as we see wages increasing across other sectors, it puts pressure on the child care workforce," McHorse said.

Rose Francois is an Austin mom who knows about the burden that expensive child care can become.

Francois said she used to live in California, one of the most expensive states in the U.S. When she came to Texas, she thought everything would be much cheaper. But she found herself paying $500 extra a month for child care.

"I'm paying $1,200, $1,300," Fracois said. "Even though he is potty-trained, and I'm having to bring my own lunch, breakfast snacks ... [they] don't give me any type of vacation time. And if he's sick, I still have to pay."

Francois said when she lived in Inglewood, California, her son wasn't potty-trained yet and the $700 she was paying per month included lunch, breakfast, a snack and two weeks of vacation time.

Now, her son is going to first grade, so she won't have to pay for his day care anymore. However, she's seven months pregnant and will soon have to decide whether all that money is worth the investment for her second child.

"It's one of those things where I could afford child care, but I'm going to give major concessions," she said. "Like, I'm not going to be able to pay down debt. I'm not going to be able to save as much."

Francois said while her baby likely won't be going into child care for at least a year and a half, she already has her name on a couple of waitlists in case she decides to go that route.

Below is a breakdown of the average amounts that parents were paying for child care in 2022 in Central Texas counties:

If you need help finding child care, United Way partners with Austin ISD to serve children in PK-3 and PK-4. In the Round Rock area, the organization partners with Round Rock ISD to serve children in PK-3.

Many programs are registering for the 2023-24 school year. To register your child in one of these programs, they must be three or four by Sept. 1. For more information about Pre-K programs, check the E3 Alliance resource page, which is offered in both English and Spanish. It includes contact information for all regional public school districts.

For families that are seeking support for child development and information, there are also many organizations that provide short-term parent education and support, including home visiting. These programs include Healthy Families Travis County, Strong Start with the SAFE Alliance and Any Baby Can's Parents as Teachers program. Information on all of these programs can be found on ConnectATX's resource page.

Boomtown is KVUE's series covering the explosive growth in Central Texas. For more Boomtown stories, head to KVUE.com/Boomtown.

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