Childcare Cost Rankings

Top 25 counties by cost and affordability of center-based infant care

Most Expensive Least Expensive Least Affordable Most Affordable

#	County	State	Infant Cost	Median Income	% of Income
1	San Francisco County	California	$31,544	$136,689	23.1%
2	Suffolk County	Massachusetts	$30,680	$87,669	35.0%
3	Arlington County	Virginia	$29,086	$137,387	21.2%
4	Norfolk County	Massachusetts	$28,860	$120,621	23.9%
5	San Mateo County	California	$28,837	$149,907	19.2%
6	Marin County	California	$28,504	$142,019	20.1%
7	Santa Clara County	California	$27,411	$153,792	17.8%
8	Alameda County	California	$26,827	$122,488	21.9%
9	District of Columbia	District of Columbia	$25,480	$101,722	25.0%
10	Contra Costa County	California	$25,052	$120,020	20.9%
11	King County	Washington	$24,879	$116,340	21.4%
12	Santa Cruz County	California	$24,798	$104,409	23.8%
13	Sitka City and Borough	Alaska	$24,413	$95,261	25.6%
14	Essex County	Massachusetts	$24,001	$94,378	25.4%
15	Middlesex County	Massachusetts	$24,001	$121,304	19.8%
16	Alexandria City	Virginia	$23,540	$113,179	20.8%
17	Santa Barbara County	California	$23,532	$92,332	25.5%
18	El Dorado County	California	$23,398	$99,246	23.6%
19	Placer County	California	$23,344	$109,375	21.3%
20	Stearns County	Minnesota	$22,395	$73,105	30.6%
21	Denver County	Colorado	$22,357	$85,853	26.0%
22	Falls Church City	Virginia	$22,311	$164,536	13.6%
23	Fairfield County	Connecticut	$22,100	$106,821	20.7%
24	Ventura County	California	$22,085	$102,141	21.6%
25	Solano County	California	$22,030	$97,037	22.7%

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau — National Database of Childcare Prices (NDCP). Affordability = annual infant center cost / median household income.