Household payments for kindergarten, January 2017

Statistics Norway conducts an annual survey of household payments for a full-time place in public and private kindergartens in January each year. The survey of January 2017 is based on a census of all kindergartens in Norway, as well as detailed information from all municipalities in Norway.

On the 1st of May 2015, a new national policy for household payments for kindergarten was put into effect. The policy ensures that no household pays more than six per cent of their total gross annual income towards a kindergarten place, up to a given maximum rate. As of January 2017, the maximum rate was set to NOK 2 730. The policy regulates both public and private kindergartens equally.

In January 2017, the average Norwegian household paid NOK 2 374 for a kindergarten place. In addition, the kindergartens collected on average NOK 289 per child to cover food and other expenses. On average, privately owned kindergartens collect more fees for food and other expenses than public kindergartens.

The mean annual payment for a full-time place in Norwegian kindergartens, including food and other costs, was NOK 29 298 as of January 2017. This is 0.9 per cent more than in January 2016.