How to Decide What to Charge for Your Child-Care Business

PRO
Dec 8, 2025
4 min read

Running a child-care business in Oregon? Setting your rates thoughtfully is key. Charge too little — and you might not cover your costs or staff fairly. Charge too much — and families may look elsewhere. This post helps you find a sensible price range by combining Oregon data, costs, and smart business thinking.

📈 What Child Care Costs Look Like in Oregon (2024–2025)

For many families across Oregon, full-time child care runs about $1,365 per child per month.
For infant care in licensed centers, many parents are paying nearly $19,000+ per year.
For home-based or family-care settings (often smaller providers), rates tend to be lower — but still significant.
Hourly / part-time care is also common: in urban regions (near Portland), in-home child care providers often charge around $22–23/hour.

These numbers give you a sense of what families in Oregon are already paying — and therefore a benchmark for what your PRO should target to be competitive yet sustainable.

🧮 How to Calculate What

You Should Charge (Oregon Edition)

When you set your tuition or rate sheet, consider applying these steps — adapted for Oregon’s context:

1. Add up your actual costs

Staff wages & staffing ratios: Especially for infants and toddlers, Oregon licensing may require smaller child-to-staff ratios or qualified staff — that raises your staffing cost per child.
Facility / home overhead & compliance costs: If you run a home-based care (licensed or certified), you must meet health, safety, and licensing standards → implies costs for inspections, safety materials, sanitation, insurance, utilities, etc.
Supplies, meals/snacks, curriculum or activities, administrative overhead, licensing fees, cleaning, etc. Many of these ongoing expenses add up quickly — especially if you offer enrichment, meals, or other “value-adds.”

Once you total those expenses, divide by the number of children you expect to serve (or capacity). That gives you your “break-even cost per child.”

2. Factor in profit margin & sustainability

After ensuring you cover costs, build in a margin so that your business isn’t just surviving — but able to compensate staff fairly, handle unexpected expenses, and invest in improvements.

3. Research the local market & what families are paying already

Look at what other providers in your area are charging. For example, infant-care tuition in many licensed centers in Oregon is among the highest in the country — nearly $19,000/year. If you price well below that, families may suspect lower quality; price too high, and you may be out of reach.

4. Adjust pricing by child age, care type, and services offered

You’ll likely charge different rates depending on whether you’re caring for infants, toddlers, preschoolers, or school-age kids. Infant care is typically more resource intensive and therefore commands higher prices.

Also consider whether care is full-time vs part-time, in-home vs center-based, includes meals or enrichment, or offers flexible hours — all of which affect perceived value and cost.

5. Factor in subsidy or state-assistance clients (if relevant)

If you plan to accept clients using state subsidy programs (e.g. Oregon Employment‑Related Day Care (ERDC)), check the maximum rates allowed for subsidy billing — you cannot charge subsidy-supported families more than private-pay families.

💵 Example Rate Ranges (for Oregon Child Care Providers / PROs)

Here are some hypothetical “starting points” for your rate sheet, based on current Oregon data and costs:

Type of care / child’s age / setting	Suggested rate range / typical cost*
Full-time center-based infant care	~$1,700 per month (or ~$19,000/yr)
Full-time home-based / family-care (infants/toddlers)	~$1,300–1,500/month (depending on services, staff ratio)
Part-time / hourly in-home care (in metro area)	~$22–25/hr (or adjust based on number of children & hours)
Preschool / older-child care (home or center-based)	Typically lower than infant/toddler: adjust downward — maybe 15–25% less depending on age & services.

* These are starting points. You should adjust based on actual costs, ratio, staff, licensing overhead, and services you provide.

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid (Especially in Oregon)

Underpricing based on fear families won’t pay: Given that many Oregon families pay high rates already, underpricing may make families suspicious of quality — and undermine your ability to deliver strong, safe care.
Ignoring licensing / compliance overhead: Oregon has strict safety, zoning, and ratio requirements for licensed family-care and center-based care. Skipping those expenses or under-estimating them can erode your bottom line.
Failing to distinguish rates by age or service level: All kids aren’t the same — infants need more attention, planning, staffing. Treating every child the same can undercut your sustainability.
Not revisiting pricing over time: Costs (wages, supplies, rent) change. Rates should be reviewed periodically to ensure you stay solvent, especially in a high-cost state like Oregon.
Not accounting for mixed clientele (private pay vs subsidy): If you accept subsidized clients under ERDC or similar — you must be aware of maximum allowed payment rates and ensure fairness.

✅ Final Thoughts: Right Rate = Balanced Care + Sustainability

If you run a provider-resource organization (PRO) in Oregon, setting the right price comes down to a mix of real costs, market conditions, and value you deliver. Use data: know what families are already paying statewide and locally. Use accounting: track your expenses carefully and build in margin. Use transparency: communicate clearly with families — explain what they get for their money: safe environment, trained staff, quality care.

When you get that balance right, you can build a child care business or network that is sustainable — and trusted by families.