A new analysis from Redfin and childcare marketplace Winnie finds that combined housing and childcare costs consume 52% of the median working family's income nationally, but that figure ranges from under 40% in Little Rock to nearly 97% in Los Angeles.
Source: Original report
The Two Biggest Family Expenses, Side by Side
For most working parents in America, housing and childcare aren't just big line items—they're budget-defining. A new analysis combining data from Redfin and childcare marketplace Winnie finds that the typical U.S. working family buying a home today devotes roughly 52% of their annual income to these two costs combined. That national figure, however, masks a striking range: in some metros, families have considerable financial breathing room, while in others, the two expenses consume nearly everything they earn.
The analysis covered the 100 most populous U.S. metro areas, estimating annual housing costs based on median sale prices, the prevailing 30-year fixed mortgage rate, taxes, insurance, and a 15% down payment, then adding the median monthly full-time daycare cost for one child. Those totals were compared against median local household incomes from the U.S. Census Bureau.
Most Affordable Cities: Midwest and South Lead the Way
Working families in Little Rock, Arkansas face the lightest combined burden of any major metro—housing and childcare together account for just under 40% of the typical family's income there. Annual costs for both expenses run about $29,150 against a median local income of roughly $73,170. Oklahoma City, Des Moines, Warren (Michigan), and St. Louis round out the five most affordable metros by this measure.
Lower home prices are the primary driver in most of these cities. Little Rock's median home-sale price sits around $254,000, well below the national median of $408,000. Des Moines is a slightly different case: housing and childcare costs there aren't among the nation's lowest in dollar terms, but a relatively high local median income of approximately $94,000 keeps the burden manageable.
Least Affordable Cities: California and New York Dominate
Los Angeles sits at the opposite extreme. The median working family there spends close to 97% of annual income on housing and childcare combined—a combined price tag of roughly $94,600 against a median local income of about $97,800. New York follows at 95%, with San Francisco, Anaheim, and San Jose also making the top five least affordable metros. Seven of the ten most burdensome metros are in California.
Even in San Francisco—where median household income tops $162,000, the highest of any metro in the study outside San Jose—housing costs alone consume more than 80% of a typical family's income. The median home there sells for approximately $1.7 million, generating annual carrying costs near $130,000.
Springfield, Massachusetts stands out as the only non-California, non-New York metro in the ten least affordable. Its housing costs are more moderate, but it has among the most expensive childcare in the country, driven by a shortage of available care slots, stringent staff-to-child ratio requirements, and high labor costs.
Where Childcare Takes the Biggest Relative Bite
In metros where housing is cheap, childcare can dominate the combined budget in a way that surprises many families. Buffalo, New York leads this category: childcare accounts for nearly 46% of the combined housing-and-childcare basket there, largely because annual housing costs are only about $24,160. Rochester, Detroit, Gary (Indiana), and Springfield round out the top five.
The inverse is true in expensive housing markets. In San Francisco, childcare represents less than 15% of the combined basket—not because care is inexpensive, but because housing costs are so outsized. This dynamic means that comparing housing costs alone can give families a misleading picture of total affordability.
Childcare Costs Alone: Texas Most Affordable, Massachusetts Least
Looking only at childcare as a share of income, Dallas is the most affordable major metro, with families spending about 11% of income on care for one child. Charleston, South Carolina and Austin, Texas follow closely. These markets combine relatively affordable care rates with above-average local incomes.
Springfield, Massachusetts again ranks as the most expensive—families there spend roughly one-third of their income on childcare alone. Bakersfield and Fresno, both in California, also rank near the bottom of affordability for childcare.
Housing Alone: Ohio Is Cheapest, California Is Most Expensive
Akron, Ohio offers the most favorable housing cost-to-income ratio of any metro studied, with families spending about 26% of income on housing. Pittsburgh and Dayton also rank highly on housing affordability. At the other end, San Francisco, Anaheim, and Los Angeles are the least affordable for housing on a percentage-of-income basis.
Why These Numbers Matter for Families Considering a Move
Redfin has partnered with Winnie—described as the largest U.S. marketplace for childcare and early education—to add local childcare information directly to home listings on the Redfin platform. The feature lets prospective buyers see nearby daycare and preschool options alongside each listing.
The affordability picture can shift over time as children age into publicly funded programs. Several states, including California, Florida, and Wisconsin, offer free universal pre-K, which substantially reduces out-of-pocket childcare costs for eligible families. New York City has begun rolling out universal childcare as a policy priority, and San Francisco provides free or subsidized care for many households. These programs mean a family's childcare burden may be significantly higher during the infant and toddler years than once a child reaches preschool or kindergarten age.
Redfin Senior Economist Yingqi Xu noted that high-income coastal markets often appear more financially rewarding on paper, but that those higher wages are frequently offset by home prices that rise faster than salaries. Meanwhile, markets with more moderate housing costs tend to leave working parents with considerably more monthly cash flow, even when local wages are lower than in major coastal cities.
For families weighing a relocation, the takeaway is clear: home price alone is an incomplete metric. Folding in childcare costs, local income levels, and access to public programs produces a more accurate portrait of what day-to-day financial life will actually look like in a given city.
