By the Babbez team · Sources opened and checked October 1, 2026
Child Care Aware of America puts the national average price of child care at $13,184 a year for 2025. The US Department of Labor's 2022 median price range for full-day care for one child is $6,552 to $15,600 a year. The price depends on the child's age, the care setting and where you live.
Key takeaways
- We compared two named sources that measure different things: Child Care Aware of America (CCAoA) and the Department of Labor (DOL).
- Infant care in a center is the highest line in both: $15,015 to $15,728 a year in CCAoA's 2025 averages.
- By our arithmetic on CCAoA's figure, $13,184 a year is $253.54 a week and $1,098.67 a month.
How much does day care cost a year?
CCAoA's national average for 2025 is $13,184 a year, up from $13,128 in 2024. CCAoA says the figure "was calculated by averaging three methods".
| Child age and setting (CCAoA national averages, 2025 yearly price) | Method 1: plain average of state averages ($ a year) | Method 2: weighted by licensed spaces ($ a year) | Method 3: weighted by number of programs ($ a year) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infant, center | $15,636 | $15,015 | $15,728 |
| Infant, family child care home | $11,673 | $13,834 | $12,336 |
| 4-year-old, center | $12,555 | $12,165 | $12,470 |
| 4-year-old, family child care home | $10,572 | $12,178 | $14,045 |
| Overall average | $12,609 | $13,298 | $13,644 |
Source: Child Care Aware of America, 2025 Price and Supply report.
The $13,184 is the average of the three overall figures. CCAoA surveyed state agencies in January 2026 for prices as of December 2025 (some gave early 2026 data).
Its methodology page says prices from market rate surveys before 2025 were adjusted for inflation, and that for states that did not respond it used each state's most recent market rate survey, with an inflation adjustment where needed.
DOL's National Database of Childcare Prices measures something else: the median price in each county, taken from state market rate surveys.
In its November 19, 2024 release, DOL wrote: "Nationwide, the NDCP finds families spend between 8.9 percent and 16 percent of their median income for full-day care for one child with 2022 annual prices ranging from $6,552 to $15,600."
DOL's blog post of the same day names home-based preschool care in small counties as the least expensive full-day care, and infant center-based care in very large counties as the most expensive.
How much is daycare a week, a month and a day?
The table divides CCAoA's yearly price and DOL's two yearly figures.
| Yearly price and source | Per month ($; year ÷ 12) | Per week ($; year ÷ 52) | Per day ($; year ÷ 260) |
|---|---|---|---|
| $13,184, CCAoA national average (2025) | $1,098.67 | $253.54 | $50.71 |
| $15,600, top of DOL's 2022 median price range | $1,300.00 | $300.00 | $60.00 |
| $6,552, bottom of DOL's 2022 median price range | $546.00 | $126.00 | $25.20 |
Every cell is Babbez arithmetic on the named source's yearly price, not the source's own figure. The daily column assumes 5 days a week for 52 weeks (260 days).
How much is infant daycare compared with toddler and preschool care?
In centers, infant care is the highest price in every CCAoA method: $15,015 to $15,728 a year for an infant, against $12,165 to $12,555 for a 4-year-old. Divided by 52, the infant figures are $288.75 to $302.46 a week (our arithmetic).
Family child care homes are less tidy. Infant care runs $11,673 to $13,834 a year, or $224.48 to $266.04 a week by our arithmetic. Methods 1 and 2 price a 4-year-old below an infant. Method 3 is the exception: it puts a 4-year-old at $14,045 and an infant at $12,336.
CCAoA's report page prints no national toddler figure. DOL does, for 2018, in the table below. DOL's issue brief defines an infant as 0 to 23 months, a toddler as 24 to 35 months and preschool as 36 to 60 months.
By those bands, a 1-year-old is priced as an infant, a 2-year-old as a toddler and a 3-year-old as preschool. The brief gives a cost reason for the gap: "care for younger children requires a lower caregiver to child ratio".
How much does home daycare cost compared with a center?
For infants, a family child care home is the lower price in all three CCAoA methods. For 4-year-olds the methods split: Method 1 puts the home lower ($10,572 against $12,555), while Methods 2 and 3 put it higher.
In DOL's 2018 county medians, home-based care is priced below center-based care for infants, toddlers and preschoolers in every county size.
DOL defines home-based care as providers who "care for small groups of children, often of mixed ages, in a home-based setting or residential unit". DOL's prices come from regulated centers and home-based providers; care in unregulated and informal settings is not in its data.
How much does day care cost in a small county compared with a big one? (2018 data)
In DOL's 2018 medians, infant center care is $7,461 a year in small counties and $15,417 in very large ones.
| Child age and setting (DOL county medians, 2018) | Small county (under 100,000 people) | Mid-sized (100,000 to 499,999) | Large (500,000 to 999,999) | Very large (1,000,000 or more) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infant, center-based | $7,461 ($8,310) | $10,194 ($11,354) | $13,420 ($14,947) | $15,417 ($17,171) |
| Toddler, center-based | $6,760 ($7,529) | $8,846 ($9,852) | $11,180 ($12,452) | $12,121 ($13,500) |
| Preschool, center-based | $6,239 ($6,949) | $8,400 ($9,356) | $10,078 ($11,224) | $11,050 ($12,307) |
| Infant, home-based | $5,824 ($6,486) | $7,800 ($8,687) | $8,978 ($10,000) | $9,892 ($11,018) |
| Toddler, home-based | $5,713 ($6,363) | $7,362 ($8,199) | $8,436 ($9,396) | $9,100 ($10,135) |
| Preschool, home-based | $5,541 ($6,171) | $7,020 ($7,818) | $8,048 ($8,963) | $9,019 ($10,045) |
Source: Figure 1 of DOL's January 2023 brief. In parentheses: DOL's own estimate in 2022 dollars.
DOL adjusted the 2018 prices to 2022 dollars with the consumer price index for child care. Its later data for 2022 put the top of the range at $15,600, below the $17,171 estimate. DOL notes that each year's medians come from the counties with price data that year.
Why do these day care prices not match?
- Average or median. CCAoA reports averages. DOL reports medians, the middle price.
- State or county. CCAoA starts from state averages for 47 states. DOL starts from county prices in 48 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico.
- Year. CCAoA's prices are for 2025. DOL's range is for 2022, and its age-by-county table is for 2018.
- Ages. CCAoA's national figures cover infants and 4-year-olds. DOL covers infants, toddlers, preschoolers and school-age children.
DOL describes its prices as what parents would pay "per year for full-time care as defined by the state for one child without public subsidies". We did not find the hours behind CCAoA's yearly price on its report or methodology page.
DOL's brief says: "CCAoA and the Women's Bureau both advise against using a single national average to represent childcare prices." We did not average the two sources or adjust any figure ourselves.
How much of a family's income goes to day care?
DOL's 2022 answer is in the release quoted above: between 8.9 percent and 16 percent of median family income for one child in full-day care.
You may also see a "7 percent" rule quoted. The US Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) addresses it in its final rule of May 12, 2026 (91 FR 25796) on the Child Care and Development Fund (CCDF), which the rule calls "the primary federal funding source dedicated to supporting working families with low incomes to afford child care".
The rule says the "optional Federal benchmark for family co-payments of no more than 7 percent of family income established in the preamble to the 2016 final rule was based on 2011 data from a U.S. Census Bureau report that showed families, on average, spent 7 percent of income on child care", and adds: "These data are outdated and therefore cannot be used to support a new national recommendation."
The same rule, effective July 13, 2026, "removes the mandatory 7 percent cap that was imposed in the March 2024 final rule" and says: "Lead Agencies continue to have the flexibility to limit co-payments to a percentage of family income." (Lead Agencies are the state, territory and tribal agencies that run CCDF.)
It also states: "HHS will not be recommending a benchmark for co-payments at this time."
For help paying for care, the federal site ChildCare.gov has a page: How Do I Get Help Paying for Child Care? This page is general information about published prices, not financial or legal advice.
How much does day care cost in my state or county?
Both sources publish local figures; we print none here. DOL offers county factsheets with 2022 data on its National Database of Childcare Prices page. CCAoA posts state fact sheets on its report page.
How did we build these tables, and what is missing?
We copied each figure, year and measure, then we checked each against its source again.
- DOL's chart of 2022 prices by age and county size would not open for us, so the age-by-county table uses the 2018 data in DOL's January 2023 brief.
- We found no hourly or two-child price in the pages we read. The only part-time price we found is DOL's blog figure for part-day care (before and after school) for school-age children, which this page does not cover. DOL's prices for infants, toddlers and preschoolers are for one child in full-time care.
Comparing care at home? See how much a nanny costs. Our first-year baby cost calculator has a childcare line, and here is what to send to daycare.
Frequently asked questions
How much does day care cost per week
Child Care Aware of America's national average for 2025 is $13,184 a year. Divided by 52 weeks, that is $253.54 a week. The division is Babbez arithmetic.
How much does day care cost per month
Child Care Aware of America's national average for 2025 is $13,184 a year. Divided by 12 months, that is $1,098.67 a month. The division is Babbez arithmetic.
How much does infant day care cost
Child Care Aware of America's 2025 national averages for infant care run from $15,015 to $15,728 a year in a center and from $11,673 to $13,834 in a family child care home, across its three methods.
Is home daycare cheaper than a daycare center
In the Department of Labor's 2018 county medians, home-based care is priced below center-based care for infants, toddlers and preschoolers in every county size. Child Care Aware's 2025 averages agree for infants, but for 4-year-olds two of its three methods put family child care homes above centers.
Why is the Department of Labor figure different from the Child Care Aware figure
They measure different things: the Department of Labor reports the median price in each county, newest data year 2022, and Child Care Aware of America an average across 47 states for 2025.
Sources: Child Care Aware of America: Child Care in America: 2025 Price and Supply (May 2026) and methodology. US Department of Labor, Women's Bureau: National Database of Childcare Prices (data 2008 through 2022); news release 24-2396-NAT (November 19, 2024); blog post (November 19, 2024); issue brief, Childcare Prices in Local Areas (January 2023). US Department of Health and Human Services: Restoring Flexibility in the Child Care and Development Fund, final rule (91 FR 25796, May 12, 2026). ChildCare.gov. All retrieved October 1, 2026. How we work: editorial standards. This article is general information, not financial, legal or medical advice; see our content disclaimer and medical disclaimer.