Methodology & data sources
DaycareLedger publishes median US childcare prices and a few transparent derivations from them. This page documents exactly where the data comes from, the reference year, and every calculation, so you can check our work. We do not invent or inflate numbers.
Primary data source
All childcare prices come from the U.S. DOL Women's Bureau — National Database of Childcare Prices (NDCP) — a public-domain federal dataset (U.S. Government work). It reports median weekly childcare prices by county, year, child age group and care setting. We use the county-level price file (study years 2008–2018) and its accompanying county lookup. Median household income figures (used only for the "% of income" derivation) are American Community Survey medians distributed within the NDCP, expressed in 2018 dollars.
| Source | Use | License |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. DOL Women's Bureau — National Database of Childcare Prices (NDCP) | Median childcare prices | Public domain (U.S. Government work) |
| U.S. Census Bureau — American Community Survey (median household income, via NDCP) | Median household income (% of income) | Public domain |
Reference year
The newest reference year in the public NDCP is 2018. State market-rate surveys run on different cycles, so a given state's latest available year can be earlier (for example, some states' latest data is 2015–2017). We use each state's own latest year with data and label it on the page (the "Data year" column / page subtitle). The national headline figure uses 2018 rows only. Childcare prices have risen since 2018; treat every figure as a historical baseline and verify current local prices with providers.
How we aggregate and derive figures
- State medians. A state figure (per age × care type) is the median of that state's county values for the state's latest data year. Counties with no value for a cell are excluded from that cell's median — never replaced with a guess.
- Annual cost. The NDCP prices are weekly. We annualize as
annual = weekly median × 52 weeks. This assumes year-round full-time care; part-year or part-time arrangements cost less. - % of income.
share = annual childcare cost ÷ median household income, compared with the U.S. HHS affordability benchmark of 7% of household income. For states, we use a population-weighted median household income computed from county figures (this tracks the statewide ACS figure far better than a plain county median). - Ranks. Computed over the states that report a center-based infant price (our canonical headline). 1 = most expensive (or, for the burden ranking, largest share of income).
- County pages. We publish the 60 most populous counties that report a center-based infant price, using each county's own latest data year.
Coverage & omissions
We cover 49 jurisdictions (states plus DC) that report childcare prices. Indiana and New Mexico are not shown because the federal NDCP contains no childcare price data for them in any year — we omit them rather than fabricate values. Any age group or care type a state or county does not report is shown as "—".
The calculator
The cost calculator runs entirely in your browser using the same state median prices and the same two formulas above. It stores nothing.
Limitations
These are median prices for an entire state or county, so an individual provider or neighborhood can be much higher or lower. Data is historical (2018-era). Figures are for general information and may contain errors; always verify against the primary source and with local providers before relying on them. Snapshot compiled June 2026. See our disclaimer.
Last updated: 2026-06-20