Care.com’s 2025 Cost of Care Report, released today, paints a grim–yet real–picture of the mental load on parents as daily responsibilities caring for children, seniors, and pets cause significant emotional and financial strain. The report finds that the average parent who responded is responsible for five loved ones, resulting in the management of five different care arrangements, yet nearly half (48%) say that they still don’t have enough help. The report further reveals a concerning correlation between caregiving and overall well-being, leaving 90% of parents losing sleep, 80% crying (increasing to 90% for moms specifically), 75% feeling a sense of dread, 71% experiencing health issues, and 29% even considering suicide or self-harm due to the challenges of finding, managing, and affording care.

New to the 12th installment of the annual report, which comprises survey results of 3,000 parent respondents, is a focus on the root causes behind the care-related pressures pushing parents to the brink of emotional and financial ruin. Parents who responded to the survey point to endless care searches (disruptions like schedule changes, budget changes, or needing one-time care drive new searches, and 52% report it taking two months or more on average to find the right caregiver), exorbitant family care costs (the average parent spends 40% of their household income on all of their caregiving needs, with 22% spent on child care alone), and personal time sacrifices (34 important life commitments are missed each year due to inadequate care).

“The level of stress and mental load on parents today has reached unacceptable heights, spurring detrimental outcomes.” said Brad Wilson, CEO of Care.com. “We, as a society, cannot stand idly by while parents endure a daily depletion of their time, money, and energy taking care of those who depend on them the most. As evidenced by our report, the need for support is more dire than ever. Without it, the well-being of not just parents, but children and seniors, too, is at risk.”

The new research comes just months after Surgeon General Dr. Vivek Murthy’s public health advisory on the well-being of the 63 million parents across the country. While the warning spotlights stressors such as financial instability, children’s health and safety, and cultural pressures, the 2025 Cost of Care Report zeroes in on how the responsibilities of finding, managing and paying for care–and not just for children, but for the entire household–also calls for meaningful solutions that make true impact.

Highlights from the 2025 Cost of Care Report:

It's More Than the Kids—Parents Take Care of It All

Parents manage a complex web of responsibilities, with the average parent responsible for five loved ones, including their children, aging parents, and pets. To make it work for the whole family, parents have to weave together a patchwork quilt of five different care arrangements on average, ranging from babysitters to daycares to relatives. Yet nearly half (48%) say they still don’t have enough help.

Caregiving Ranks High as a Top Stressor

Caregiving responsibilities trail only financial-related challenges as the most common top source of stress in parents’ lives. The emotional and mental load is staggering with 90% of parents losing sleep, 80% crying (this increases to 90% for moms), 75% feeling a sense of dread, 71% experiencing health issues, and 29% considering suicide or self-harm due solely to the stress of caring for the whole household.

Root Cause: The Endless Search

Finding care isn’t a one-and-done affair. Parents have to find new care solutions for reasons like schedule changes (31%), budget changes (26%) and needing one-time help (18%). Each search is time-consuming, with more than half (52%) of surveyed parents taking two months or more to find the right caregiver. For daycare in particular, waitlists plague more than half (57%) of parents, with 55% facing a wait of four months or longer. As a result, 52% of parents report being very to extremely stressed when they need to find a new caregiving solution.

Root Cause: The High Expense

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) deems 7% of family income as the benchmark for affordable child care; however, according to the findings in the Care.com 2025 Cost of Care Report, the average parent spends 22% of their household income on child care costs. Taking into account their additional care responsibilities (senior care, adult care, pet care, and housekeeping), this increases to 40% of their household income total. The typical parent (57%) paid at least $9,600 on child care costs in 2024. When factoring in all care expenses, that number increases to $14,400.

National Average Posted Weekly Rates for Child Care in 2024*

  • Weekly nanny cost: $827 (up from $766 in 2023)
  • Weekly daycare cost: $343 (up from $321 in 2023)
  • Weekly family care center cost: $344 (up from $230 in 2023)
  • Weekly babysitter cost: $167 (down from $192 in 2023)

*Based on Care.com marketplace data from job postings. Infant rates except for babysitter, which is not age limited. Rates for toddlers, after school sitters, and more, can be found within the report.

Despite this hefty price tag, 61% of parents think caregivers deserve to be paid more—indicating a need for systemic solutions that help parents to better afford care, without impacting the well-deserved wages of professional caregivers.

Root Cause: The Personal Sacrifice

The typical parent has just 3 hours a day to themselves (moms specifically report only having 2 hours), and parents miss out on 34 important life commitments per year (2.8 per month), on average, due to challenges of finding care. This includes travel (37%), birthdays (34%), holidays (33%), weddings (21%), baby showers (15%), and funerals (14%). The challenges of finding and affording care also takes a toll on their personal relationships, with 52% missing out on time spent with friends, and 46% on time spent with their significant other.

Almost all (89%) of respondents–or their partner/spouse–had to make at least one major change to their work, life or finances to afford care last year, such as reducing spending on entertainment and leisure activities (40%), delaying major purchases (32%), taking on multiple jobs (24%), and even going into debt (20%).

Parents Want Meaningful Solutions

Nearly 3/4 (73%) of parents rated having a better caregiving network as a way to improve their mental and emotional health, trailing only behind making more money (78%). Government, employers and private organizations all need to rally together to create systemic change. From a financial standpoint, the majority of parents look towards the government for support, with 87% of parents rating expanded tax credits for care expenses as helpful in solving the challenges of affording care. 79% also see a role for employers for reducing these burdens through subsidized caregiving benefits. Parents additionally look towards technology solutions, pointing to features such as the ability to find many types of care on a single platform (86% rated helpful) and guided senior care advisor services (73% of those searching for senior care rated helpful) to help relieve their mental load.

The full results of The 2025 Cost of Care Report can be found here.

2025 Cost of Care Report Methodology

This sample of 3,000 U.S. adults was surveyed between November 11, 2024 and November 20, 2024. All respondents are parents of children 14 years or younger and currently pay for professional childcare, confirmed by both consumer-matched data and self-confirmation. DKC Analytics conducted and analyzed this survey with a sample procured using the Pollfish survey delivery platform, which delivers online surveys globally through mobile apps and the mobile web along with the desktop web. The survey valid completion rate was 75%. No post-stratification has been applied to the results.

About Care.com

Available in 21 countries, Care.com is one of the largest providers of online services for finding family care and care jobs, spanning in-home and in-center care solutions. Since 2007, families have relied on Care.com for an array of care for children, seniors, pets, and the home. Designed to meet the evolving needs of today’s families and caregivers, the Company also offers customized corporate benefits packages to support working families, household tax and payroll services, and innovations for caregivers to find and book jobs. Care.com is an IAC company (NASDAQ: IAC).

Media Contact: Natasha Fellion, Communications Manager press@care.com

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