# How much should I charge for home daycare per week?

Start from a full week of costs, then divide by the children you care for. ProfitDrawer's home daycare guide works an example for 6 full-time children: $1,375 of pay (55 hours at $25), $168 of food, $60 of supplies, $45 of insurance and licensing and $40 of utilities, for $1,688. Adding 15% gives $1,941.20, or $325 per child per week. These are example numbers, not local rates.

Check your license first: the example assumes your license allows 6 children of those ages.

Why the numbers look like this:

- **Hours:** 50 open hours plus prep and cleaning makes 55 hours a week.
- **Food:** $28 per child, so 6 x $28 = $168.
- **The 15%** covers taxes, sick days and empty spots.
- **Per child:** $1,941.20 / 6 = $323.53, rounded to $325.

If only 4 spots are filled at first, the same costs are shared by fewer children, so plan savings for that period.

Common policies to decide:

- A higher rate for infants and separate part-time rates.
- Payment ahead, and whether families pay to hold a spot during vacations.
- Late pickup fees and a holiday policy, written in a parent handbook.

Test different numbers in the free price per job calculator and compare your result with local rates.

- Source: [How to Start a Home Daycare Business (Licensing, Costs and Pricing)](https://profitdrawer.com/guides/how-to-start-a-home-daycare-business.html)
- Updated: 2026-10-29
- Published: 2026-10-29
- Category: Pricing and profit
- Canonical: https://profitdrawer.com/answers/how-much-should-i-charge-for-home-daycare-per-week.html
- Publisher: ProfitDrawer (https://profitdrawer.com)