Childcare prices for your county, by age
Childcare is often the largest monthly cost for families with young children, and it varies widely by county and by the child’s age. This calculator uses the U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau National Database of Childcare Prices (NDCP), the most comprehensive federal source of county childcare prices. It reports the median weekly price of full-time care for four age groups in two settings: licensed centers and home-based family childcare.
Worked example: one infant in Cook County, IL
The 2022 median price for full-time center-based infant care in Cook County is $278 a week. Over 52 weeks that is $14,473 in 2022 prices; multiplied by the BLS day-care price change since then (1.2224) it is about $17,692 a year in current dollars, or $1,474 a month.
The age bands
| Band | Ages (NDCP definition) | US median county price, center-based, 2022 |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | 0–23 months | $174/wk |
| Toddler | 24–35 months | $154/wk |
| Preschool | 36–54 months | $144/wk |
| School-age | school age, 5–12 (before- and after-school care) | $120/wk |
The “US median county price” is the middle value across the 2,704 counties with 2022 data — not weighted by population. Another 196 counties have only an older year (2018–2021); the tool shows them with that year labelled, but they are left out of these 2022 statistics.
States with the highest and lowest infant-care prices
Median county price of full-time center-based infant care, 2022 dollars per week:
| Highest | Median | Lowest | Median |
|---|---|---|---|
| District of Columbia | $490 | Kansas | $96 |
| California | $353 | Georgia | $109 |
| Massachusetts | $352 | South Carolina | $117 |
| Connecticut | $330 | Mississippi | $118 |
| Washington | $328 | South Dakota | $120 |
| Hawaii | $306 | Idaho | $127 |
What a year of care costs in Cook County
Weekly prices understate how large childcare is in a budget. Here is a full year (52 weeks) for one child in each band in Cook County, in 2022 prices and in current dollars:
| Age band | Center, 2022 | Center, current $ | Home-based, 2022 | Home-based, current $ |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infant | $14,473 | $17,692 | $10,804 | $13,207 |
| Toddler | $11,440 | $13,984 | $10,066 | $12,305 |
| Preschool | $9,837 | $12,025 | $9,159 | $11,196 |
| School-age | $4,295 | $5,250 | $2,709 | $3,312 |
Prices usually fall as children get older because staff-to-child ratios required for infants are tighter than for preschoolers. School-age prices cover care outside school hours, so many families need fewer weeks or hours; set the weeks to match your plan.
Center-based or home-based care?
Centers are licensed facilities that group children by age; home-based (family childcare) providers care for a small, mixed-age group in a residence. In DOL’s data, home-based care is usually cheaper — the US median county price for an infant is $143 a week versus $174 in a center (2022 prices) — but availability, hours and licensing differ by state. Use the care-type option to compare both for your county.
Childcare in a move
When you compare two places, childcare can swing a budget more than rent. The federal Child Tax Credit — $2,200 per child under 2026 law in our tax data, reduced at higher incomes — is the same everywhere, but childcare prices are not. The cost of living calculator prices each child’s care in both metros and includes the credit in the tax comparison.
How to read the numbers
- Medians of market prices. These are the prices providers charge before subsidies, from each state’s market-rate survey. Your quote may differ by provider and quality.
- Full-time care. The definition of full-time varies by state. For part-year care, reduce the weeks.
- Age-band flags. DOL collapses six-month age bands into each age group and flags how: every band had the same price, the price is the most common band price, or (with several modes) the highest of them. The flag does not mean the sample was small or that years were pooled; we use the published value either way.
- Older years. Where a county has no 2022 price we show its latest published year (2018–2021), labelled with that year, and adjust it with the BLS index from that year’s average.
- Current dollars are an estimate. The BLS price index tracks the national change in day-care and preschool prices; local prices may have changed faster or slower.
To put childcare in a full household budget with taxes, rent and the Child Tax Credit, use the relocation budget planner.