(The Center Square) – Stringent regulations in child care centers drive up costs, especially for low-income families, according to a new report.
The Commonwealth Foundation, a Harrisburg-based nonprofit focused on fiscal conservancy, said its research shows that daycare for two children costs more annually than in-state college tuition.
The foundation points to onerous post-secondary job requirements and staffing ratios, making affordability out of reach for most middle and low-income households. In Pennsylvania, single parents earning a median salary of $37,000 spend nearly half of their income on child care.
Federal guidelines define “affordable” child care as costing no more than 7% of a household’s income.
“Childcare in Pennsylvania remains too expensive, and that is no surprise given the commonwealth remains one of the most overregulated states for child care in the nation,” said Elizabeth Stelle, the foundation’s vice president of policy. “When families pay more for child care than college, the system is broken.”
The Center for American Policy, a progressive nonprofit organization based in Washington D.C., shares a similar overall sentiment, albeit the solutions are diametrically opposed. They say the system is broken and deregulating certain aspects of the industry – crucially not staffing ratios or educational requirements – would improve affordability. So would more taxpayer support.
In a 2025 report, researchers with the center wrote that “efforts to get around the high cost of care by relying on teenagers, reducing training, and increasing teachers’ workload by increasing the number of children in their care fail to address long-standing systemic issues resulting from a lack of sufficient public investment.”
Pennsylvania will spend $448.8 million on child care subsidies this year, up $50 million from 2023, according to the foundation. Gov. Josh Shapiro wants to increase that total by another $15 million.
And despite requiring college degrees, child care workers in Pennsylvania are paid less than preschool teachers and assistants. The commonwealth also imposes some of the nation’s strictest staffing ratios.
Stelle said giving providers “more freedom” would ease the cost for families.
“By targeting the costly and overburdensome regulations that unnecessarily drive up the costs of care, lawmakers can make quality childcare more affordable throughout the commonwealth,” she said.
