Two Markets: Day Care and College

Which is the bigger market--day care or college? The day care market used to be bigger, but that's no longer the case as rising unemployment during the Great Recession reduced day care spending.

In 2000, 6.20 percent of the nation's households spent on day care centers during an average quarter versus 4.85 percent who spent on college tuition, according to a Demo Memo Blog analysis of the Consumer Expenditure Survey. In 2007, before the official start of the Great Recession, day care spending had shrunk to 5.39 percent of households but it still surpassed the 4.97 percent who spent on college tuition. In 2008 the day care market fell below the college market and has been there ever since.

Interestingly, the percentage of households spending on college tuition peaked in 2009 at 5.62 percent. By 2011, the percentage had fallen to 4.98 percent--barely surpassing the 4.71 percent who spent on day care.