Senior Manager of Business Development, Moser Consulting
HCLA Alumna Class of 2019
It’s August 2016. My husband and I are on vacation when we find out we’re expecting our first child. Excitement, fear, and every emotion in between flood over us. As soon as we returned home, we eagerly scheduled our first OB appointment and—wanting to get ahead of the game—immediately book tours at several local daycare centers.
To our surprise, we weren’t ahead of the game at all. Two of the three centers had waitlists stretching into September or October of 2017—over a year away. The third had a slightly shorter waitlist, aligning with our timeline, so we put down a deposit immediately. Just to be safe, we secured a spot on another waitlist as well. Nearly $400 later, we still did not have a 100% guarantee for a spot to match our needs.
Most would assume this was simply bad timing or an isolated period of high demand. But as Hamilton County parents know, this is just reality. I definitely know—I’ve been through it four times. With four kids born between May 2017 and May 2023, we quickly learned our lesson. By the time we were expecting our second child, we had deposits down and our name on a waitlist before I was even pregnant. I used to joke that after telling my husband the good news, my next call was to our daycare, then my OB.
More Centers, Same Problem
Despite new daycare centers opening in recent years, the shortage of childcare options remains a challenge for many families in our growing community. Our current center has a 1.5-year waitlist for an infant spot. Another I recently called is estimating availability in April 2026.
And getting a spot is just one piece of the puzzle.
The Cost of Childcare
Another major hurdle is cost. Many parents are shocked to learn that the price of childcare can rival the total cost of in-state tuition at IU (source) or Purdue (source). In Hamilton County, the cost of infant care at two local centers I surveyed ranges from $25,000 to $27,500 per year. If you have two kids in daycare—or three, like we did for a year—that number becomes overwhelming. For many families, childcare is their single largest expense.
It’s easy to assume daycare centers are overcharging, but when you break down the costs, it becomes clear they’re not. Right now, with a 4-year-old and a 21-month-old in care, we’re paying just under $10 per hour per child. Considering the operating costs, staffing, and the critical role these centers play in our lives, that number isn’t unreasonable.
And while some suggest that one parent should just stay home, that’s not always a viable option. Every family has different financial realities, career aspirations, and personal circumstances that make that decision complex.
Where Do We Go From Here?
I don’t have all the answers, but this is a conversation we need to keep having. Hamilton County is a thriving community, but to sustain that success for future generations, we need creative solutions that make childcare more accessible and affordable. Let’s keep the discussion going—because this isn’t just a parenting issue; it’s a community-wide challenge.
Stay tuned for the release of the Invest’s Childcare Action & Investment Plan!