Licensed child care centers are unaffordable for 93% of NYC households. The average cost of daycare in NYC can be up to $23,000 a year — representing 20% of an average family’s income in Manhattan and 47% in the Bronx. 

This has major implications for children, families, and the NYC economy. Childcare is key to early childhood development and can have significant, long-lasting cognitive and social impacts. It can affect a parent’s ability to accept an in-person job or even participate in the workforce at all, and it particularly impacts women and low-income families. The high cost of child care is slowing our city’s economic engine and shrinking our workforce, and it has major implications for gender, racial, and socioeconomic equity.

5BORO has been analyzing the impacts of child care gaps on the city’s overall economic recovery and well-being. We are focused on advancing policies that ensure high-quality child care is accessible, affordable, and available to New Yorkers.