We had our kid in the infant class at a chain daycare in Central, $3400/mo. His older sibling was $2900/mo. And the care wasn't even that great...We moved them to a daycare closer to our house, a little further out. The costs went down 25% and the quality went up dramatically. It's really amazing how hit or miss the quality of the day care options are in the area, and how obscenely expensive it all is. But it's an easy equation for them--you simply look at the after-tax income of a biopharm mid-career professional and you make it cost that. The families are willing to pay that amount of money for 3-4 years because leaving a parent out of the workforce causes a loss of career trajectory and a subsequent loss of future income. Basically you sacrifice a few years of current earning to not lose out on the time in role.
