Childcare Costs in Indiana
How much does childcare cost in Indiana?
In Indiana, the average full-time price for infant care at a childcare center is $1,373 a month ($16,478 a year), according to Child Care Aware of America's 2024 Price of Care survey. Indiana 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 $792 a month, and preschool at a center averages $1,044 a month.
In Indiana, the average full-time price for infant care at a childcare center is $1,373 a month ($16,478 a year), according to Child Care Aware of America's 2024 Price of Care survey. Indiana 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 Indiana
| Age | Center / year | Center / month | Home-based / year | Home-based / month |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infant | $16,478 | $1,373 | $9,508 | $792 |
| Toddler | $16,002 | $1,334 | $9,102 | $759 |
| Preschool | $12,531 | $1,044 | $8,470 | $706 |
Statewide averages from Child Care Aware of America's 2024 Price of Care survey. The survey's preschool column covers four-year-olds. In Indiana, 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 Indiana 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 Indiana compares
At $1,373 a month for infant care at a center, Indiana'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 $581 a month less. The bill also falls as children age: preschool at a center averages $329 a month less than infant care, because older children need fewer carers per room. One caution about any statewide average: it blends the Indianapolis market with small-town providers, so your quotes can land well above or below these figures depending on where in Indiana you live.
Indiana care help through the Child Care and Development Fund
Paying the full median childcare price in Indiana is not the only option, and for low income families it is rarely the realistic one. Help comes through the Child Care and Development Fund Program, administered by the Indiana Family and Social Services Administration. That agency is your starting point for lowering the amount you owe a provider each month. Put the wage picture next to it and the need becomes clear: Indiana's minimum wage is $7.25 an hour, so even full time work at the floor can leave a parent short once rent and care are both due. Apply early, keep paperwork together, and ask how your share is calculated before you commit to a spot you cannot sustain.
New to the options in Indiana? Read childcare costs explained before you tour anywhere.
Frequently asked questions
How much does childcare cost in Indiana?
The average price of full-time infant care at a childcare center in Indiana is $1,373 a month ($16,478 a year) in Child Care Aware of America's 2024 Price of Care survey. Home-based infant care averages $792 a month, and preschool at a center averages $1,044 a month.
Why does Indiana use different data from most states on this site?
The federal National Database of Childcare Prices publishes no county prices for Indiana 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 Indiana first-year cost page uses. The figures are statewide averages from that survey, not medians from the federal database.
How current are the Indiana 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 Indiana bill down?
In Indiana, compare center and home-based prices above (the infant gap between them is $581 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: Illinois · Iowa
All states: childcare costs by state · Tools: Childcare cost calculator · Family budget planner
Source for Indiana: 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 Indiana. Indiana 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.