Marketplace purchase data shows that families paid an average of $100.60 a day for a week of day camp in 2024, an increase of 5.1% over last year. In 2023, families experienced a 12.4% increase.
ActivityHero.com is the largest marketplace for in-person camps and classes and includes price and session information for hundreds of camps nationwide. With robust marketplace search filters, camp reviews, and personalized email recommendations, ActivityHero.com makes it easier for families to find and book activities for their kids.
Our aggregate data shows not only the price of summer camp sessions but also what families actually paid for camp. It offers insights into day camp pricing, discounts, and extended care trends.
Price Variances
When you go to a store or shop on Amazon, you’ll usually find a wide price for seemingly similar items. A pair of jeans could be $35 or $250. But you, the shopper, get to choose which pair you want to buy, and maybe you’ll select a pair of jeans that costs $65.
The summer camp industry also has a fair bit of variance in price, as reported by recent articles by Bloomberg Businessweek, citing sleepaway camps prices at the high end at “$10,500 for four weeks in Maine to…$6,970 for three weeks of Caribbean sailing, not including travel.”
And typically camp prices have modest annual increases to account for rising costs. Reports of skyrocketing prices began to circulate in 2022 and 2023 after the American Camp Association (ACA) published results of their annual CampCounts research survey in March 2022 which reported that the average day camp fee was $178 per day in 2021. Reporters from Yahoo Finance and other media outlets began to say “the average cost of day camp has more than doubled to $178 per day in 2022, compared to just $76 in 2021…and sleepaway camp prices have nearly tripled to $449 per day.”
At these prices, a one week day camp would cost $890. This made us wonder how does the average price listed compare to the price that families actually pay for day camp? And is the average price of a day camp really $178 a day? As the largest marketplace for day camps and classes, ActivityHero.com is able to compare list prices and the actual price paid for thousands of camps in the US to answer these questions.
Comparing summer camp prices
ActivityHero’s data shows that in 2024 the average price paid by families for a week-long day camp in California was $530 per week. The price paid is the full cost of the session, including extended care and after any discounts are applied. ActivityHero’s dataset is heavily concentrated in Western states and includes high price markets such as San Francisco and Los Angeles and a wide range of specialty camps such as art, soccer and coding.
So why have we been hearing that the price of a single day of day camp is $178 or $180 in the news? We contacted the ACA and they told us “The American Camp Association would like to discourage journalists from using the CampCounts 2021 Report to cover the average price of camp. The 2021 data is based on a sample of less than 300 respondents and that sample doesn’t represent the full breadth of camp pricing across the field in our country. Average day camp prices range from completely free to $200+ per day and overnight camp prices range from free to $500+ per day.”
It’s worth noting that ActivityHero’s dataset over 2021-2024 consists of about 100,000 summer camp sessions offered by for-profit and independent nonprofits.
Extended Care
The typical day camp ends at 3:00 or 3:30, so families who need a longer day will look for extended care. The average price of extended care was $26.33 a day. However, only 8.2% of day camp registrations included the extended day option. This was an increase from the 7.6% of California families who opted for extended care in 2023. Trends show that the need for extended care is less than half of what it was pre-pandemic, when 18.9% of families opted for extended care in 2019.
How summer camp cost compares to pre-pandemic
“Camps are facing rapidly rising costs,” notes Matt Noble, Galileo Learning’s CEO. “Wages, rent, and materials costs have all been increasing at the most dramatic pace we’ve seen in more than two decades of operation.”
As camp operators faced these rising costs, the average list price for a summer day camp increased by 51% between 2019 and 2023. But savvy shoppers on ActivityHero have been choosing the lower priced camps and getting camp discounts to reduce the overall cost to families.
Making summer camps affordable
Galileo Learning, a STEAM and innovation camp based in Oakland, California, has kept the average list price of their camp below $480 for the past three years and increased prices by only 2.9% in 2023. CEO Matt Noble explains “it’s important to our mission that we keep camp affordable and accessible to families, which we’ve done by putting hard caps on price increases, expanding our financial aid program, and offering families incentives for enrolling early and for multiple weeks.”
The hourly price of summer day camps is still cost effective compared with other forms of childcare. The average price paid per hour of camp is $17.87 in 2024, compared to $21-23 per hour for a babysitter in the Los Angeles area or $24 – 25 per hour in the San Francisco area.
Summer camps are still far from being inexpensive, but families who use a marketplace like ActivityHero to see a wide range of camps can find options that fit their family’s budget. Single day camps or half day programs are less expensive ways to schedule some out-of-the-house activities.
“Families see the value of the summer camp experience and are finding ways to save money,” said Peggy Chang, co-founder at ActivityHero. “Families can take advantage of discounts by booking early, following our flash sales, referring friends, and applying for financial aid.”
Many camps offer incentives for registering early or for multiple weeks. The average number of camp registrations in California that received discounts was 20% in 2024. The highest rate of registrations receiving discounts was 37% in January and February. ActivityHero also offers flash sales and referral credits that families can stack with other camp discounts.
ActivityHero offers a scholarship program for students with financial need to attend a camp for as little as 10% of the normal cost. The scholarship program is made possible through donations from families (who contribute $5-50 as they enroll their children) and activity providers who offer reduced fee spots. Over 1,100 children have received a scholarship from this program. Families qualify for a scholarship by completing the ActivityHero scholarship application.
Co-Founder Peggy Chang encourages families with financial need to apply for the ActivityHero Scholarship Program. “Our mission is to make sure every child has an opportunity to experience summer camp. A child can gain confidence at theatre camp, learn to code, or develop lifelong leadership skills at a nature camp.”
The summer camp experience
The ability to be with other kids and develop social emotional skills after the long period of social isolation during the pandemic is a unique aspect of summer camp. Camps offer a mix of fun, learning and social experiences that is hard to put a price on.
Maria, a parent from Seattle, shared “Camp gave my daughter a great amount of joy and a sense of confidence to try new challenges! She loved all the different activities and making friends in the process.”
Data sources: ActivityHero marketplace data on summer day camp prices and registrations from 2019-2023. Overnight camp prices from Bloomberg Businessweek. ACA camp fees from Yahoo Finance interview and ACA CampCounts 2021. Average cost of a babysitter is from Care.com, Urbansitter.com, Sittercity.com surveys.