Markup & Margin Calculator for Daycare

Daycare pricing is primarily driven by your local market, parent expectations, and the cost of meeting regulatory ratios. Unlike most businesses, you cannot simply mark up a product. Your 'product' is hours of licensed care, and the price is tuition. The margin equation is tuition revenue minus the cost of the staff required to meet ratios, minus facility and overhead costs. The key insight is that margin varies dramatically by age group because staffing ratios differ. An infant room with a 1:4 ratio and a teacher earning $15/hour costs $3.75/hour per child in direct labor alone. If infant tuition is $300/week (50 hours), that is $6/hour in revenue per child, yielding only $2.25/hour per child for all other costs and profit. A preschool room at 1:10 ratio costs $1.50/hour per child in direct labor, with $250/week tuition ($5/hour), leaving $3.50/hour per child. This calculator helps you see how tuition, ratios, and wages interact to determine your real margin per child across age groups.