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Daycare Center and Family Home Forum>How Much Do You Charge A Day?
LadyK8 08:00 AM 03-03-2014
I'm looking for ideas on how much to charge a day. I will be taking care of children ages 0-4 from 7 am to 5:30 pm. I live in an area where normal weekly rates seem to be in the $125 range.

Does $120 sound good for 2-4, with daily rates of $25 and an hourly rate of $5?

What about $135-weekly, $30-daily, and $7 hourly for infants?

Any ideas? I just got my license, and I don't want to over/under-charge. Thank you for whatever help you can give.
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SSWonders 08:05 AM 03-03-2014
I live about 25 minutes from Boston. In my area $40/day is mid range.
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Patches 08:06 AM 03-03-2014
I charge by the week. My rates for full time range from $130 - 155/ week.
Hit submit to quickly. I meant to say, I would just go with whatever is average for your area
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Unregistered 08:11 AM 03-03-2014
I charge $185/week for full time. $40/day for part time. When I opened the average in my area was between $100-$125 I started out much higher at $150 only because I invested over $20,000 into my daycare and I was looking for a different clientele. I'm still one of the higher daycares in my area and have always been full with a long wait list.I guess it would depend on exactly what you offer,your set up,education,etc. If you can offer something more or different to parents charge more,if you offer the same as other providers charge the same.If you didn't invest much into opening your daycare and only plan on doing it for a short time or only plan on having a few children I would charge a little less.Good luck!
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Blackcat31 08:24 AM 03-03-2014
Originally Posted by LadyK8:
I'm looking for ideas on how much to charge a day. I will be taking care of children ages 0-4 from 7 am to 5:30 pm. I live in an area where normal weekly rates seem to be in the $125 range.

Does $120 sound good for 2-4, with daily rates of $25 and an hourly rate of $5?

What about $135-weekly, $30-daily, and $7 hourly for infants?

Any ideas? I just got my license, and I don't want to over/under-charge. Thank you for whatever help you can give.
I charge weekly and don't offer daily rates.

Weekly rates are dependent on how many days per week a family needs, whether it is a set or varying schedule and the time a family will be picking up.
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LadyK8 08:30 AM 03-03-2014
Originally Posted by Blackcat31:
I charge weekly and don't offer daily rates.

Weekly rates are dependent on how many days per week a family needs, whether it is a set or varying schedule and the time a family will be picking up.
Can you expound on that last statement? I always wondered if it would be better to just have a weekly rate, instead of dealing with the daily rates, but I didn't know if that would be fair.
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llpa 08:32 AM 03-03-2014
My daily rate is $40 here no matter the age for a day of care. However, parents contract for a certain amt of days and if they go beyond that, they pay an extra 40 for each day. I don't guarantee any days beyond contracted days. $40 is around the middle of a $37 to $42 or so range in my area.
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Blackcat31 08:48 AM 03-03-2014
Originally Posted by LadyK8:
Can you expound on that last statement? I always wondered if it would be better to just have a weekly rate, instead of dealing with the daily rates, but I didn't know if that would be fair.
I have a rate for:

3 set days
3 varying days (slightly higher than the 3 days per week but less than 4 day rate because they have access to the whole week)
4 days per week
5 days per week

It works like this: (see attachment)
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LadyK8 08:48 AM 03-03-2014
Well, you guys have been a huge help!

I've got my prices set, and I'm ready to go.
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jenboo 08:50 AM 03-03-2014
preschool age average is $25 a week here too.
I charge $125 a week for 3+
$150 a week for 19 months-3
$175 a week for 18 months and under

I provide all food and drinks, diapers and wipes.
I could probably charge a little more because i offer a high quality home daycare compared to a lot in my area but I was nervous when I was just starting out in sept
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BumbleBee 08:57 AM 03-03-2014
$3 an hr per kid between the hrs of 7am & 6pm. Before 7am and after 6pm is $5 an hr per kid. I'm in SW Michigan. Small town-out in the boonies.
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TwinKristi 09:06 AM 03-03-2014
I'm 45 min North of San Francisco and charge between $40-50/day depending on hours and attendance. If it's less than 3 days I charge $50/day, 3-4 days is $45/day and 5 days is $40/day. For drop-in care I charge $10/hour/child. It's pretty average, most people charge $40-50/day and some more if they offer preschool. I don't discount based on age.
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mom2many 10:38 AM 03-03-2014
Originally Posted by TwinKristi:
I'm 45 min North of San Francisco and charge between $40-50/day depending on hours and attendance. If it's less than 3 days I charge $50/day, 3-4 days is $45/day and 5 days is $40/day. For drop-in care I charge $10/hour/child. It's pretty average, most people charge $40-50/day and some more if they offer preschool. I don't discount based on age.
I'm about an hour south of San Francisco in San Jose. My rates are exactly the same as yours, except I discount for S/A only. I charge $30/day for them, regardless of whether they are in school or on vacation.
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melilley 11:01 AM 03-03-2014
I charge:
$140 a week for full time
My part time is $30 a day with a minimum of 2 days a week
And if I have an opening on a day, I have drop in spots that are $35 a day.

I don't do hourly. They pay for the full day/week for up to 10 hours a day regardless of the minimum amount of hours.

I do part time because I decided to have 2 pt kids and 3 full time. My 2 part time kids make up for a full time child (financially) so it works out. Plus I can take drop ins if I want 3 days out of the week, which equals to extra money.
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TwinKristi 11:02 AM 03-03-2014
Originally Posted by mom2many:
I'm about an hour south of San Francisco in San Jose. My rates are exactly the same as yours, except I discount for S/A only. I charge $30/day for them, regardless of whether they are in school or on vacation.
I forgot SA care- I charge $7/hr
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LadyK8 12:31 PM 03-03-2014
Thank you everyone!
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Starburst 04:25 PM 03-03-2014
It depends on your region and how much you can afford if your enrollment is a little low. I'll also be starting soon and my family is moving to a new state and I looked at some of the craigslist postings, as well as the average assist pay rates (just for a ball-park of what they are willing to pay for FCC) and I plan on starting a little lower than the others in town as a way to get my foot in the door (get some interests) and plan on regularly increasing my rates (every year or two) until it gets closer to the higher end of the price range. That way I don't price myself out of the market and don't feel like I am trapped and can never raise my prices. But I also plan on being on the food program and offering parent's night out at least every other month (if not every month, depending on how much interest is shown).
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LadyK8 07:27 PM 03-03-2014
Originally Posted by Starburst:
It depends on your region and how much you can afford if your enrollment is a little low. I'll also be starting soon and my family is moving to a new state and I looked at some of the craigslist postings, as well as the average assist pay rates (just for a ball-park of what they are willing to pay for FCC) and I plan on starting a little lower than the others in town as a way to get my foot in the door (get some interests) and plan on regularly increasing my rates (every year or two) until it gets closer to the higher end of the price range. That way I don't price myself out of the market and don't feel like I am trapped and can never raise my prices. But I also plan on being on the food program and offering parent's night out at least every other month (if not every month, depending on how much interest is shown).
Congratulations! I remember posting here when I first started my journey, and you were one of the first ones to reply to me. Nice to see that we're both at the same stage. I wish you the best!
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rebekki78 11:00 AM 03-05-2014
It totally depends on the surrounding area! Some people get away with $50 per day, but it is about half that in my area. It even varies a lot in my area though. I think that it is crazy how it all varies in different areas! I charge two rates. Full timers pay a certain rate, and part-timers, per day, pay $5 more per day (then the weekly rate equals out to per day). Even parents that work 3 days a week need childcare, and this gives me a slight break on the other 2 days! So my part time rate is slightly higher then my full time rate, per day. I do not charge hourly at all, that is just too confusing for me to keep track of lol. I am glad that you got it all worked out. It's one of the trickiest parts!
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TaylorTots 11:08 AM 03-05-2014
I don't have a daily rate unless it is drop in care ($40/day) or no school days ($30/day if notice is given 2 weeks in advance otherwise drop in rate and only available to current SA enrolled kids).

5 days = $135
4 days = $120
3 days = $95

After school only care (I am on bus route, do not do transportation): $50/week regardless of number of days. This may seem low but I am only watching these SA kiddos for 1-2 hours, which evens out to $6.50/hour or more.

Hours 7am-5pm
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LoraJenkins 05:19 PM 03-22-2014
Here are my rates:

4-5 set days...no more than 10 hpurs per day is $125 per week.
3 set days....no more than 10 hours per day is $90 per week.
drop-ins are $35 per day, still no more than 10 hours per day.
weekrnd care is $50 per day....no more than 10 hours. ( I usually do not provide weekend care).


ANYTHING more than the 10 hours is considered late and I charge $25 per 15 minutes.
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DaisyMamma 08:48 AM 03-24-2014
I'm in SE CT.
Baby cull time $200. Or daily $50
Age 2-5 full time $175. Or daily $40

I should be charging more.
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Unregistered 05:19 PM 03-24-2014
I live in New Britain, CT and I charge a flat-rate for full-time @$175 weekly. $5/hr., for before and after school and $40 daily. I provide breakfast, lunch, dinner and 2 snacks plus my own baby wipes.
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Denise 05:05 AM 03-25-2014
I live south of Boston MA and the average here is $200 per week full time. Daily is anywhere from $50 - $65 per day part time.
Looks like most of you are only charging $3 + change an hour when you break your weekly rates down. I'd say you aren't getting even half of what you are worth.
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Second Home 05:27 AM 03-25-2014
I charge $30 per day for part time .
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Unregistered 11:39 AM 03-25-2014
Originally Posted by rebekki78:
It totally depends on the surrounding area! Some people get away with $50 per day, but it is about half that in my area. It even varies a lot in my area though. I think that it is crazy how it all varies in different areas! I charge two rates. Full timers pay a certain rate, and part-timers, per day, pay $5 more per day (then the weekly rate equals out to per day). Even parents that work 3 days a week need childcare, and this gives me a slight break on the other 2 days! So my part time rate is slightly higher then my full time rate, per day. I do not charge hourly at all, that is just too confusing for me to keep track of lol. I am glad that you got it all worked out. It's one of the trickiest parts!
it varies because it's based on the cost of living and salaries... If you are in a major city Boston, NYC etc the rates are naturally higher than small towns way out west. I feel daycare homes should charge as much or more than daycare centers in their area. Daycare homes provide consistent one on one caring and education that meets the learning style and development of the children in care. Specialized care!
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misslori50 09:57 AM 03-26-2014
I tried to charge 125 a week but the going rate around here in centers is 110 so that is what I charge. If they come less than full time it goes up to 25 a day. I provide food.
I do only charge 3$ an hour for short time. I really need to raise that rate.
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rebekki78 11:15 AM 03-26-2014
I do have one child who I do allow a part time charge of 1/2 day rate if she is working under 5 hours since the child is here only twice a week usually. His mom works at the local fast food place and on the day she pays me for childcare, she isn't even bringing home any money from work. It is all going to me. Yes, I have a soft heart for single moms who have lost the father of their child to a death. I was a single mom for 8 years and I struggled every week. It isn't getting any easier out there.
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rebekki78 11:22 AM 03-26-2014
Originally Posted by Unregistered:
it varies because it's based on the cost of living and salaries... If you are in a major city Boston, NYC etc the rates are naturally higher than small towns way out west. I feel daycare homes should charge as much or more than daycare centers in their area. Daycare homes provide consistent one on one caring and education that meets the learning style and development of the children in care. Specialized care!
That is a good way of looking at it, I actually didn't see it that way. I forget that not everyone is from farm country! I always had my children in homes instead of centers because my town didn't have a center, and the one I am in now doesn't, either. We have a lot of licensed providers in our area and that is probably why.
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Unregistered 05:29 PM 10-11-2017
Originally Posted by BumbleBee:
$3 an hr per kid between the hrs of 7am & 6pm. Before 7am and after 6pm is $5 an hr per kid. I'm in SW Michigan. Small town-out in the boonies.


I am also in Michigan, what do you charge for part time and what hours are they? Thanks in advance, just starting up on my in home day care
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HappyEverAfter 06:08 PM 10-11-2017
I'm just outside of Memphis and I charge by the week only. It's $135 per week, paid in advance of care. It's the second highest I've seen in my area but you get what you pay for. I only keep 3 kids (will eventually be 4) and I work hard to give phenomenal care. There is a lady across town who only charges $65 per week and I'm terrified at what kind of care you get for such a low rate. I don't know her or anything so I'm not knocking her personally but as a parent I would be terribly concerned.
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Georgiads 09:09 PM 10-11-2017
Originally Posted by SSWonders:
I live about 25 minutes from Boston. In my area $40/day is mid range.

I'm just barely inside RT 128 and I charge 95 per day, but I typically take full timers so its around 400 per week.
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hwichlaz 07:45 AM 10-12-2017
RURAL northern california

Infants are $36 per day
all others $33 per day

I won't accept children for less than 4 days a week. So that puts my weekly rates at $144/180 and $132/165
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hwichlaz 07:48 AM 10-12-2017
LadyK8
Here's your most recent published market rate survey.

http://www.dhss.delaware.gov/dss/files/mrs2015.pdf

the table is on page 18
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hwichlaz 07:51 AM 10-12-2017
Originally Posted by hwichlaz:
LadyK8
Here's your most recent published market rate survey.

http://www.dhss.delaware.gov/dss/files/mrs2015.pdf

the table is on page 18
the graph on page 19 is more helpful. It shows lowest, highest, and median daily rates for each age group.
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storybookending 07:53 AM 10-12-2017
This thread is 3.5 years old
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Tags:daily rate, full time vs part time, rate structures
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