L.J.
When I was researching daycares at this time a year ago, I visited 3 centers in Grand Rapids/Kentwood (Generations at Porter Hills on Fulton, Appletree on 52nd & Eastern, and Rainbow on 52nd & East Paris), and they all charged $204/week for infants up to 1 year old, then it gradually decreases as the child gets older. $204/wk is a lot of money, especially when you multiply that by 52 wks/year - YIKES! But I didn't feel like I had much choice. I don't have family in the area who could help with childcare, and I wasn't comfortable going with an in-home provider who was a total stranger. Do your research, visit different places, and find out the features they offer. I went with Generations because I felt like I got more for my money, and it just had a better atmosphere than the others I visited.
Now my son is with an in-home provider, and I pay $130/wk. I love the savings, I love his caregiver, but the biggest downside is that if she's sick, I'm stuck taking a day off work unless I have a backup sitter (which I don't). In a center, if one of the workers calls in sick, it's not a problem.