Household childcare costs

This section presents costs for all children in the household aged up to 11 years old.

During school term time, 74% of households reported that they had no childcare costs, similar to 2022 and 2023. A fifth (20%) spent less than 10% of their average monthly income on childcare, with 5% spending between 10 and 20% (Table 34). Equivalent information on costs for the full household is not available prior to 2022.

During school holidays, 79% of households stated that they had no childcare costs, similar to 2023 (81%) and an increase from 71% in 2022. Almost all other households (20%) spent less than 10% of their average monthly income on childcare, also similar to 2023 (19%) (Table 35).

Across the full year, the majority of households (71%) had no childcare costs. Households with an annual income greater than £30,000 were less likely to have no childcare costs across the year (66%) than those with an income between £15,000 and £30,000 (80%) and those with an income below £15,000 (87%). A fifth of households (20%) spent less than 10% of their average monthly income on childcare, and a further 6% spent between 10 and 20% (Table 36). These proportions are broadly similar to previous years.