Household payments in kindergartens, January 2016

Every January, Statistics Norway conducts an annual survey of household payments for full-time places in public and private kindergartens. The 2016 survey is based on a census of all kindergartens in Norway, as well as detailed information from the 428 municipalities in Norway.

On 1 May 2015, a new national minimum requirement for household payments in kindergartens was put into effect. The new minimum requirement ensures that no household pays more than six per cent of its total gross annual income towards a kindergarten place, up to the maximum fee of NOK 2 655. The minimum requirement applies to both public and private kindergartens.

For households with a gross annual income of NOK 250 000, the new requirement ensures an average monthly payment in public and private kindergartens, excluding food and additional costs, of NOK 1 303 on a national basis. For public kindergartens, this corresponds to a 40 per cent price decrease from January 2015 to January 2016. For households with a gross annual income of NOK 375 000, the corresponding payment is NOK 1 967; a 15.8 per cent price decrease from last January. Households with a gross annual income of NOK 500 000 saw a price increase of 9.8 per cent to NOK 2 652 in January 2016.

In January 2016, the average Norwegian household paid NOK 2 362 for a kindergarten place. In addition, the kindergartens charged an average of NOK 279 per child to cover food and additional costs.

The average annual payment for a full-time place in a Norwegian kindergarten, including food and additional costs, was NOK 29 051 as of January 2016.