What would it cost to replace the work done at home?
A transparent way to value a parent's unpaid work — using real wage data, a realistic replacement share, and the fact that this need ends. Every number below is yours to change, and the math is shown in full.
Built by Yertai Tanai, a data-analytics professor and licensed California insurance advisor (#4472033). New to this? Start with the guide to the honest math on a stay-at-home parent, which explains why the popular $185,000 figure doesn't hold up.
Your numbers
California's statewide average for center-based infant care is about $22,600 a year, ranging from roughly $11,500 to $31,500 by county. Use your own figure if you have one.
Full-time paid care largely ends when a child starts school. Count the years until your youngest reaches that point.
Cooking, cleaning, laundry, driving, scheduling, homework. Count real hours, not a symbolic figure — you can reduce for realism in the next step.
Bureau of Labor Statistics mean hourly wages, May 2025: childcare $16.84, housekeeping $17.83, cooking $18.62, tutoring $23.10. These are national figures — California runs higher, so raise this if that fits your area.
Until the youngest child is independent. This is the honest limit most calculators leave out.
Not every unpaid hour becomes a paid one. Some tasks stop, some get absorbed, family helps. This is the fraction a household would genuinely purchase. Applies to household work only — childcare above is counted in full, because a working survivor would have to pay for it.
A lump sum received today can be invested while it is drawn down, so future costs are worth less than their face value now. Leaving this on lowers the estimate. It is the honest thing to do.
The math, in full
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This worksheet is educational and general in nature. It estimates a replacement cost only; it is not financial, tax, or insurance advice, and it does not recommend any specific product or company. Wage figures are from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics Occupational Employment and Wage Statistics survey, May 2025 (national means). California childcare figures are from Child Care Aware of America's 2024 Price & Supply Report and the California Child Care Resource & Referral Network. Individual situations vary; consult a licensed professional before making decisions.