Alabama’s metros average $162 a week for center-based infant care, about $8,440 a year in August 2026 dollars. That is the lowest state average in MoveMath’s data, based on the DOL National Database of Childcare Prices. The District of Columbia is the highest at $599 a week ($31,147 a year). Texas averages $177 a week across its 26 metros, and California $442 across 25. State averages hide big differences between counties, so check the one you’re considering in the childcare cost calculator.
How the ranking is built
- For each metro, MoveMath takes the NDCP median weekly price for full-time center-based infant care (0–23 months) in the principal city’s county.
- It converts that price to August 2026 dollars with the BLS CPI for day care and preschool, using the price’s own year: × 1.2224 for 2022, × 1.2707 for 2021, × 1.2945 for 2020.
- It averages the metros in each state. Annual cost = weekly × 52.
Texas (26 metros) and California (25) averages are well grounded. Vermont, Delaware, Rhode Island, New Hampshire and DC rest on a single metro each.
Source: DOL Women’s Bureau, National Database of Childcare Prices, 2008–2022 data file. BLS CPI-U, day care and preschool, August 2026.
Cheapest states for center-based infant care
State average of metro medians, in August 2026 dollars:
| State | Infant, weekly | Infant, yearly | Preschool, weekly | Metros | Price year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $162 | $8,440 | $150 | 12 | 2022 |
| Arkansas | $172 | $8,953 | $151 | 5 | 2021 |
| Texas | $177 | $9,205 | $163 | 26 | 2022 |
| Mississippi | $181 | $9,412 | $154 | 3 | 2022 |
| Georgia | $182 | $9,469 | $162 | 14 | 2022 |
| Kentucky | $186 | $9,677 | $163 | 6 | 2022 |
| Louisiana | $189 | $9,812 | $175 | 10 | 2022 |
| Michigan | $189 | $9,826 | $179 | 15 | 2022 |
| West Virginia | $194 | $10,103 | $193 | 7 | 2022 |
| Idaho | $196 | $10,183 | $170 | 6 | 2022 |
| South Dakota | $203 | $10,564 | $191 | 2 | 2022 |
| Wyoming | $207 | $10,755 | $192 | 2 | 2022 |
Arkansas has no 2022 county prices in the NDCP, so its ranking uses 2021 prices adjusted to 2026 dollars.
Most expensive states for center-based infant care
| State | Infant, weekly | Infant, yearly | Metros | Price year |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $599 | $31,147 | 1 | 2022 |
| Massachusetts | $473 | $24,603 | 6 | 2022 |
| Alaska | $463 | $24,063 | 2 | 2022 |
| Vermont | $460 | $23,925 | 1 | 2021 |
| California | $442 | $22,962 | 25 | 2022 |
| Connecticut | $427 | $22,184 | 5 | 2022 |
| Colorado | $419 | $21,764 | 7 | 2022 |
| Hawaii | $400 | $20,793 | 2 | 2022 |
The DC figure is the District of Columbia’s own county price ($490 a week in 2022), because DC is the principal county of the Washington metro. Suburban counties in Maryland and Virginia have their own, different prices.
States not ranked, or ranked on older prices
- Indiana and New Mexico: no NDCP county prices in any year 2018–2022, so they are not ranked. MoveMath budgets for Indianapolis, Albuquerque and the other metros in those states leave childcare out and say so.
- Missouri: only Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield have prices (2020). Columbia, Jefferson City, Joplin, St. Joseph and Cape Girardeau have none, so Missouri’s $247 average is thin.
- Pennsylvania (2020 prices) and Vermont (2021): ranked on their latest available year, adjusted with that year’s CPI factor.
What explains the variation
Childcare is mostly labor. Prices tend to follow local wages, commercial rents and the staffing rules each state sets for its licensed providers, which are strictest for infants. The NDCP records prices, not causes, so treat a state’s rank as a market fact and price the specific county.
Within-state variation: Texas
Texas’s $177 average spans a wide range of county prices (2022 prices, 2026 dollars, per year):
| Metro (county) | Weekly 2022 | Yearly, 2026 $ |
|---|---|---|
| Austin (Travis) | $229 | $14,556 |
| Dallas (Dallas) | $194 | $12,332 |
| Houston (Harris) | $185 | $11,759 |
| San Antonio (Bexar) | $171 | $10,870 |
| El Paso (El Paso) | $122 | $7,755 |
| San Angelo (Tom Green) | $113 | $7,183 |
Moving from Houston to Austin adds about $2,800 a year for one infant in center care.
Combining childcare with everything else
Cheap childcare is one line of a budget. Alabama’s infant price is the lowest in the data, but wages, rent and taxes all differ too. The cost-of-living calculator puts NDCP childcare (in 2026 dollars) next to taxes, rent, food and other costs for a two-city comparison. The childcare cost calculator shows county prices by age and care type.
Related: Texas, California, Alabama. Moving pages: Chicago to Nashville, Los Angeles to Dallas.