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Weekly Bulletin issue no. 19, 1998 <sti>Stikktittel

Household payment in kindergartens, 1st half 1998:

Municipal and private day-care places often cost the same

Parents in Oslo with medium or high incomes pay the same for a day-care place whether it is private or municipal. The same applies to Trondheim, but here the price level is lower.
For households with medium or high income (NOK 250,000 and NOK 375,000) in Oslo and Trondheim, day-care fees are virtually the same whether the parents choose a municipal or private day-care facility. The level of day-care fees differs, however, between the two cities. Trondheim is NOK 200 cheaper per month than Oslo.

Stavanger has a much higher price level for private day-care places compared to municipal day-care centres regardless of household income. For high-income households in Bergen, it is cheaper to have children in private rather than municipal day-care facilities. For medium-income households the parental fees for municipal day-care centres are lower than for private ones.

Payment system determining factor

Around half of the municipalities operate with means-tested fees based on household income. Municipalities that use means-tested fees often have high day-care fees for high-income households and similarly low fees for low-income households with an income under NOK 100,000. The municipalities of Oslo, Bergen and Stavanger operate with means-tested fees.

The opposite of means-tested fees are flat fees, which are the same regardless of household income. This is the case in Bodø and Trondheim. Flat day-care fees are often expensive for low-income households. But with the combination of low income and high day-care fees, households can in many cases qualify for various discount and free place schemes, or receive economic assistance from the welfare office. Private day-care centres charge for the most part flat fees.

New Statistics

Household payment in kindergartens, 1st half 1998.

Statistics are published in May and November every year in the Weekly Bulletin of Statistics. The survey is conducted for the Ministry of Children and Family Affairs. For more information, contact: kari-anne.hovland@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 47 22, or frode.bendiksen@ssb.no, tel. +47 21 09 44 27.

Weekly Bulletin issue no. 19, 1998