Childcare Costs by State
What does full-time childcare actually cost where you live? These are the federal government's own prices: median annual and monthly costs by state, for infants, toddlers and preschoolers, at childcare centers and in home-based care (2023 estimates from the US Department of Labor).
Every state, ranked by infant care at a center
| State | Infant center / mo | Infant center / yr | Toddler center / mo | Preschool center / mo | Infant home / mo |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hawaii | $1,766 | $21,187 | $1,766 | $1,153 | $765 |
| Alaska | $1,715 | $20,580 | $1,358 | $1,118 | $897 |
| Connecticut | $1,556 | $18,668 | $1,556 | $1,237 | $1,020 |
| Massachusetts | $1,556 | $18,668 | $1,454 | $1,148 | $1,275 |
| California | $1,477 | $17,724 | $927 | $927 | $938 |
| Rhode Island | $1,380 | $16,565 | $1,318 | $1,183 | $1,014 |
| New Jersey | $1,294 | $15,529 | $1,189 | $990 | $822 |
| Washington | $1,265 | $15,184 | $1,083 | $956 | $942 |
| Vermont | $1,170 | $14,041 | $1,125 | $1,070 | $846 |
| Maryland | $1,133 | $13,595 | $784 | $784 | $764 |
| New York | $1,121 | $13,452 | $1,050 | $994 | $814 |
| New Hampshire | $1,091 | $13,087 | $1,008 | $900 | $802 |
| Wisconsin | $1,020 | $12,241 | $893 | $893 | $755 |
| Minnesota | $979 | $11,752 | $852 | $770 | $663 |
| Maine | $944 | $11,323 | $905 | $848 | $765 |
| Nevada | $935 | $11,218 | $887 | $887 | $874 |
| Utah | $934 | $11,208 | $797 | $724 | $750 |
| Ohio | $923 | $11,078 | $842 | $740 | $751 |
| Delaware | $915 | $10,978 | $851 | $766 | $686 |
| Arizona | $905 | $10,864 | $816 | $727 | $510 |
| Pennsylvania | $905 | $10,864 | $842 | $778 | $714 |
| Virginia | $867 | $10,405 | $689 | $689 | $689 |
| Illinois | $855 | $10,261 | $740 | $638 | $638 |
| North Carolina | $842 | $10,099 | $694 | $592 | $691 |
| Michigan | $833 | $9,999 | $833 | $729 | $558 |
| Oregon | $818 | $9,816 | $789 | $789 | $656 |
| Florida | $797 | $9,569 | $700 | $613 | $727 |
| Nebraska | $783 | $9,401 | $714 | $703 | $571 |
| Iowa | $778 | $9,338 | $778 | $664 | $508 |
| Montana | $749 | $8,983 | $655 | $655 | $563 |
| Oklahoma | $749 | $8,982 | $629 | $629 | $563 |
| North Dakota | $729 | $8,752 | $697 | $623 | $524 |
| Wyoming | $702 | $8,420 | $633 | $572 | $653 |
| Texas | $681 | $8,171 | $628 | $575 | $601 |
| Missouri | $679 | $8,147 | $527 | $527 | $505 |
| Idaho | $678 | $8,142 | $630 | $579 | $589 |
| Louisiana | $660 | $7,916 | $660 | $640 | $507 |
| West Virginia | $659 | $7,903 | $615 | $571 | $549 |
| Tennessee | $648 | $7,774 | $561 | $561 | $497 |
| South Carolina | $625 | $7,498 | $625 | $529 | $472 |
| Alabama | $614 | $7,370 | $614 | $535 | $546 |
| Kentucky | $587 | $7,039 | $523 | $523 | $510 |
| Kansas | $576 | $6,916 | $597 | $519 | $491 |
| South Dakota | $527 | $6,329 | $527 | $514 | $440 |
| Georgia | $507 | $6,082 | $480 | $480 | $453 |
| Arkansas | $504 | $6,044 | $499 | $453 | $453 |
| Mississippi | $346 | $4,150 | $327 | $327 | $300 |
Tap a state for its full table (all ages, both care types, annual and monthly), its priciest and least pricey counties, and a calculator preset with its prices. Colorado, Indiana, New Mexico and DC are not in the federal price data at all, so they are not listed; see the FAQ below.
How to use these numbers
Start with your state's page and find the row for your child's age. That median is your negotiating anchor: a quote far above it needs a reason (smaller ratios, longer hours, meals included), and a quote far below it is worth a careful look at quality and licensing. Then run your real quotes through the childcare cost calculator, which compares centers, nannies and after-school care with the tax breaks included, and read childcare costs explained before you sign anything.
Why the state line matters so much
Childcare is mostly people, and people cost what local wages cost. That is why the priciest state in the data, Hawaii at $1,766 a month for infant center care, runs about 5.1x the least expensive, Mississippi at $346. The care itself is not several times better; the labor market is different.
Frequently asked questions
Which state has the most expensive childcare?
Of the states in the federal database, Hawaii is the priciest for infant care at a center, at a median of $1,766 a month. The least expensive is Mississippi at $346 a month. Same baby, very different bill, mostly because care is labor and labor costs more in high-wage states.
Which states are missing from this list?
Colorado, Indiana, New Mexico and the District of Columbia. The federal National Database of Childcare Prices contains no county prices for them at all (their rows are blank in the source data), so rather than invent numbers we leave them off and say so.
What does median price actually mean?
Half the counties in a state price care at or below the figure, half at or above. Your town could sit far from the state median, especially if you live in its biggest metro. Each state page shows its priciest and least pricey counties so you can see the spread.
How current are these prices?
They are the US Department of Labor's 2023 estimated prices, the latest federal childcare price release, built from the National Database of Childcare Prices (observed prices 2018, updated to 2023). Real quotes today will usually be higher; treat these as a documented floor.
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Source: US Department of Labor, Women's Bureau, National Database of Childcare Prices (NDCP), county price data table, 2023 estimated prices, retrieved 2026-10-13. State figures are medians of the state's county median prices; monthly figures are the annual price divided by 12. Prices have likely risen since 2023, so treat these as a well-documented floor, not a quote.