Few costs on Long Island are as hefty as the price of child care, with some parents paying as much as $24,000 a year to ensure their child is safe while they are at work.

Parents on Long Island, regardless of income levels, often find covering the cost of child care difficult , and few options to help with the costs, local experts said. Even as the income thresholds that determine which families can receive financial assistance have increased, demand for child care aid, particularly for children 5 or under, remains high.

Although Island residents report higher incomes than the rest of the state and nation, according to U.S. Census Bureau data — the median household income for Nassau was $143,144 in 2024, and $126, 863 in Suffolk, compared with $83,730 for nation and $85,820 state

See Full Page