With back to school just around the corner and kids going back to school, for many families, this could mean finding daycare for the youngsters. Fortunately for some families, during the summer months, catch a break from daycare expense with sibling serving as babysitters.

I was a bit surprised at the cost of daycare after talking to a friend who shared her monthly expense on daycare. Some families don't have an option. Daycare is a needed and expensive necessity when both parents work to make ends meet. In some cases, you have a single working parent, who also needs daycare services.

We turn to IMGUR for the state by state comparison on daycare costs throughout the country.

The highest average annual childcare cost is in Washington, D.C.  where parents pay an average of $35,782 per year. Holy cow, that is a lot of money!

The lowest annual childcare costs can be found in Mississippi paying an average of only $7,981 per year. The annual cost of care is almost as low in Louisiana, with $9,728. Alabama follows these two southern states with $10,262.

North Dakota's average daycare rate is just over $1200 a month.

When you consider the cost of daycare, some parents are working just to pay for daycare.

You can see the entire list here.

 

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