CONCORD, N.H. — Some New Hampshire families are spending nearly one-third of their income on child care, according to a new analysis from the Carsey School of Public Policy at the University of New Hampshire. 

Child care costs have gone up significantly in recent years, swelling 48 percent from 2013 to 2023 in New Hampshire, the analysis found. And there was an uptick in costs in the post-pandemic years, growing 12.5 percent from 2022 to 2023. 

Take, for instance, a family with one infant and a 4-year-old going to a day-care center. They are spending, on average, $33,257 per year on child care: $17,250 per year for the infant, and $16,007 for the toddler, according to the nonprofit Child Care Aware of America.

With the median family in New Hampshire with children under 5 earning about $112,230, according to the analysis, that means about 29 percent of their income would have to go to child care alone.

In the course of a year, that would make child care the single biggest expense for many families, more than the cost of housing ($11,400 to $20,772), food ($12,456 to $13,068), and health care ($12,876 to $13,068), according to the New Hampshire Fiscal Policy Institute. 

“The prices are rapidly increasing,” said Tyrus Parker, a research scientist at the University of New Hampshire and co-author of the analysis. 

What is driving that? 

“I think the price increase is due to a mix of factors, although I’d be hard pressed to assign a share to any given factor,” said Jess Carson, director of the Center for Social Policy in Practice at UNH and co-author of the analysis. 

The increased cost of rent, utilities, food, and cleaning supplies also affects child-care providers, she said. Plus, there are workforce shortages that can drive up wages to recruit and retain staff, she said. If they don’t have enough staff, providers have to decrease their enrollment – but that doesn’t necessarily bring a proportional savings in operating costs, according to Carson. 

And, she said, now that pandemic-era aid has wound down, the only way providers can increase revenue is by increasing tuition. The economic impact can ripple out beyond the immediate families affected, taking parents who can’t afford child care out of the workforce. 

“Families have to make compromises based on their economic realities,” said Parker. 

“Maybe a family would like their child to be in care five days a week, but instead they have to opt for three days, and then one of the parents goes down to working part time just because the cost of child care is too high,” he said.

This story first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.

Amanda Gokee can be reached at amanda.gokee@globe.com. Follow her @amanda_gokee.

Jennifer Lane received a text message Tuesday afternoon purportedly alerting her to an outstanding “toll invoice” in New Hampshire. If she didn’t pay her $4.15 balance promptly, then a $35 late fee would be added, the message claimed.

Lane knew right away it was a scam. She’s the chief communications officer for the New Hampshire Department of Transportation, which manages the state’s E-ZPass electronic toll collection system, and her team had just sent out an alert a few hours earlier to warn customers about the con.

So she did exactly what the DOT’s heads-up had told the public to do if they receive such a message.

“I immediately reported it to my mobile carrier. I did not click on any links,” she said, adding that she would never give out personal or banking information when receiving a request via text message, email, or phone call.

If you know even the basics of cyber security, then you know “phishing” refers to the use of deceptive tactics online to trick someone into divulging sensitive information, such as by clicking a link in an untrustworthy email. When fraudsters use those tactics via texting — i.e., short message service, or SMS — that’s called a “smishing” scam.

The New Hampshire Department of Transportation said it was advised that an unknown number of Granite Staters are being targeted by an apparent smishing scam. It resembles cases that have been reported in other states in recent months, but the local messages are tailored to New Hampshire residents.

“It looks realistic, however the typos are obvious,” Lane said.

In this case, it seems the scammers are targeting phone numbers with 603 area codes, without any apparent insight into whether a number is affiliated with any of the state’s roughly 588,000 E-ZPass accounts, she said.

“Another employee in the office that does not have an E-ZPass received (a smishing message) as well,” she added.

New Hampshire’s E-ZPass will never send text messages requesting payment for tolls with late fees, according to the DOT’s message. Account holders should instead use the official NH Turnpike E-ZPass website or the NH E-ZPass mobile app.

If you receive a smishing text, you can alert your phone carrier by forwarding the suspicious message to 7726 (SPAM) and you can file a complaint with the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center, the DOT noted.

This story first appeared in Globe NH | Morning Report, our free newsletter focused on the news you need to know about New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles from other places. If you’d like to receive it via e-mail Monday through Friday, you can sign up here.

Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.

Police are asking witnesses to come forward following a deadly crash on Wednesday night.

Troopers responding to a crash on I-93 near mile marker 32.4 in Bow around 5:41 p.m. for a report of a two-car crash found a white sedan and a blue SUV on fire in the woods off to the right side of the road, according to New Hampshire State Police.

An adult male who was driving the sedan was pronounced dead at the scene. His identity is not being released at this time pending next of kin notifications.

The driver of the SUV, an adult female, sustained serious injuries that aren’t believed to be life-threatening. She was transported to an area hospital.

Authorities closed Two lanes of I-93 southbound near the crash scene and they say drivers should seek alternate routes.

Investigators say there were multiple vehicles traveling at a high rate of speed prior to the crash. Anyone with information about what happened is asked to contact the Troop D barracks.

Members of the New Hampshire State Police Collision Analysis and Reconstruction (C.A.R.) Unit and the New Hampshire State Fire Marshal’s Office are investigating the cause of the crash. The Bow Fire Department and Concord Fire Department assisted at the scene.

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will conduct an autopsy on the deceased victim Thursday.

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