Daycare is like a lot of things—you often get what you pay for, but sometimes you get a lot more than you pay for. I’ve worked in a few centers and also in one private home daycare. Of those places, there are only two I’d send my own kids to. One of them (this was in Indiana) was $95 a week and included breakfast, lunch, and snacks for the kids. Of course, this was about 13 years ago and I’m sure the cost is higher now.
The home daycare where we chose to send our daughter was by far the “cheapest” daycare option we looked into, but we chose that caregiver because she was so great. That expensive center where I later worked did have an incredible program as well, but not long before I left we got a new director who proceeded to make a lot of bad choices. I wouldn’t send my kids there now if it were free, and at one point I adored that center.
So, there’s more to it than just the cost. It’s really the caregivers that make all the difference. Ask how to choose a daycare when you get to that point, and I’ll test the character limits of this comment box with my answer. :)