Childcare Costs in Colorado
How much does childcare cost in Colorado?
In Colorado, the average full-time price for infant care at a childcare center is $1,748 a month ($20,978 a year), according to Child Care Aware of America's 2024 Price of Care survey. Colorado is one of the few states the federal childcare price database does not cover at all, so this page is built on the survey's state averages rather than federal medians. Home-based infant care averages $1,139 a month, and preschool at a center averages $1,233 a month.
In Colorado, the average full-time price for infant care at a childcare center is $1,748 a month ($20,978 a year), according to Child Care Aware of America's 2024 Price of Care survey. Colorado is one of the few states the federal childcare price database does not cover at all, so this page is built on the survey's state averages rather than federal medians.
Average childcare prices in Colorado
| Age | Center / year | Center / month | Home-based / year | Home-based / month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infant | $20,978 | $1,748 | $13,666 | $1,139 |
| Toddler | $17,479 | $1,457 | $13,666 | $1,139 |
| Preschool | $14,800 | $1,233 | $12,830 | $1,069 |
Statewide averages from Child Care Aware of America's 2024 Price of Care survey. The survey's preschool column covers four-year-olds. In Colorado, home-based means a licensed family childcare home. Monthly figures are the annual price divided by 12.
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Got real quotes from Colorado providers? Put them in our childcare cost calculator to compare center, home-based, nanny and after-school care on your own numbers. Then fold the winner into your family budget planner.
How Colorado compares
At $1,748 a month for infant care at a center, Colorado's statewide average sits in the upper part of the national picture, and the choice of setting matters as much as the state line: home-based infant care averages $609 a month less. The bill also falls as children age: preschool at a center averages $515 a month less than infant care, because older children need fewer carers per room. One caution about any statewide average: it blends the Denver metro market with small-town providers, so your quotes can land well above or below these figures depending on where in Colorado you live.
CCCAP, explained for Colorado parents
Parents in Colorado hear one set of initials again and again when they ask how anyone affords the median rates on this page: CCCAP. It stands for the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program, and it is run by the Colorado Department of Early Childhood, a separate home from the human services department that handles food help. Start with that department for applications and for questions about how payments reach providers. Wages set the backdrop: the state minimum wage is $15.16 an hour, yet even at that level, infant and toddler care can claim a striking share of take home pay. Checking CCCAP eligibility before you sign a contract is the practical first step.
New to the options in Colorado? Read childcare costs explained before you tour anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
How much does childcare cost in Colorado?
The average price of full-time infant care at a childcare center in Colorado is $1,748 a month ($20,978 a year) in Child Care Aware of America's 2024 Price of Care survey. Home-based infant care averages $1,139 a month, and preschool at a center averages $1,233 a month.
Why does Colorado use different data from most states on this site?
The federal National Database of Childcare Prices publishes no county prices for Colorado at all; its rows for the state are blank. Rather than invent figures, this page uses Child Care Aware of America's 2024 Price of Care survey, the same source our Colorado first-year cost page uses. The figures are statewide averages from that survey, not medians from the federal database.
How current are the Colorado figures?
They are 2024 prices, collected in Child Care Aware of America's January 2025 survey and published in May 2025. Childcare prices tend to rise, so treat the averages as a well-documented floor when you budget and compare quotes, not as a quote themselves.
How can I bring the Colorado bill down?
In Colorado, compare center and home-based prices above (the infant gap between them is $609 a month at the state average), ask about sibling discounts and part-week schedules, and claim every tax break: the Child and Dependent Care Credit and a Dependent Care FSA can return real money. Our childcare cost calculator runs your own quotes for center, home-based, nanny, and after-school care.
Keep exploring
Neighboring states in the alphabet: California · Connecticut
All states: childcare costs by state · Tools: Childcare cost calculator · Family budget planner
Source for Colorado: Child Care Aware of America, 2024 Price of Care: Child Care Affordability Analysis (appendix to Child Care in America: 2024 Price & Supply), published May 2025, prices from the January 2025 survey, retrieved 2026-11-10. The US Department of Labor's National Database of Childcare Prices publishes no prices for Colorado. Colorado figures are statewide survey averages; monthly figures are the annual price divided by 12. Prices have likely risen since 2024, so treat these as a well-documented floor, not a quote.