Household payments for kindergarten, 15 August 2000, January

Rogaland has the lowest annual payment on average for parents with high income. In Oslo the households have to pay more than NOK 38 000. The annual payments among the municipalities in the survey vary from less than NOK 24 500 to more than NOK 42 000. This means that these households spend roughly 6 to 11 per cent of their gross income on kindergarten payments.

The lowest fees paid by households with low income are found in the Oslo/Akershus area with annual payments on average of less than NOK 10 000. The highest fees exist in the counties of Møre og Romsdal and Nord-Trøndelag with an average annual payment of more than NOK 32 000. 12 per cent of the municipalities in the survey do, however, offer free places for households with low income and as much as 68 per cent offer some kind of economic support to low income families.

On average the annual kindergarten payments for households with gross income of NOK 100 000 and NOK 375 000 are NOK 23 201 and NOK 32 746 respectively, but the variation is considerable.

The payment system differs

The large differences in payments may to a great extent be explained by the payment system. 64 of the 109 municipalities in the survey have the same payments regardless of the total gross income of the households, while the remaining municipalities use fees that vary according to the total gross income of the households.

All municipalities offer price reductions for the second child. 52 of the 109 municipalities in the survey offer 50 per cent off. 28 municipalities have higher fees for the youngest children.