Daycare Cost Calc Find local costs

A childcare budget tool

Daycare vs. nanny.

Compare center, home-based care, a nanny and a nanny share—including employer taxes.

Your details

All amounts in USD

Care cost prefilled from Essex County. Edit it to match your quote.

Source 2022 · CPI adjusted to August 2026

Care and timing
Daycare quotes

Without a county prefill, the care amounts are editable examples. Enter your current quotes.

Daycare prices are multiplied by this count.

The nanny arrangement

$25 is an editable planning assumption, not a local average.

Federal live-out overtime starts after 40 hours.

State overtime rules may differ.

Include state unemployment, insurance, leave, payroll service and backup care.

0.6% assumes the full state credit; adjust for credit reductions.

Nanny share

Employer taxes are calculated separately for each family.

120% means the shared total wage is 20% above the solo wage.

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The next step

Make the numbers your own.

Enter your income and confirmed care costs, then calculate to see the result and the steps behind it.

Daycare quotes alongside nanny wages, employer taxes and sharing costs

What’s included?

Hourly pay, federal weekly overtime, paid weeks, employer FICA and net FUTA, plus the additional annual costs you enter. Each sharing family is modeled as a separate employer.

DOL’s July 2026 table lists a basic rate of $12.77/hour for Virginia. Coverage exceptions, local rates and state overtime can differ. Review the wage rules.

Care.com’s published nanny-rate context is a platform survey and posted-rate sample. Our $25 default is a planning assumption.

Read the source and rules

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Keep the full picture
in view.

Your care quote is a starting point. These tools help with the choices that follow.