County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Archuleta County, CO

The standout signal in Archuleta County, CO is the center–family premium: center infant care costs $-29/yr more than family care (narrow premium tercile) beside a $11,601 center sticker.

Data updated 2026-09-24

$11,601
Center Infant/yr
$11,630
Family Infant/yr
$66,813
Median Income
17.4%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Archuleta County pairs the 21st percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a heavy income burden on families.

21st pct.
affordability nationally
Heavy
income-burden tier
Narrow
family-vs-infant price gap
#2,109
of 2,661 priced counties
C
PlainChildcare Composite Score
44/100
Archuleta County, CO

A center-based childcare affordability composite (infant, preschool, and school-age price burden relative to local median income) plus poverty rate, benchmarked against every other tracked county nationally. Not a rating of childcare quality, safety, or availability. Dimensions with no data on file are excluded and their weight redistributed, never counted as zero.

Infant care burden D
Center-based infant care costs 17.4% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)
Preschool care burden D
Center-based preschool care costs 14.7% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)
School-age care burden D
Center-based school-age care costs 12.4% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)
Economic hardship A
4.7% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)
Price-change feed

National sticker context: $9,593 average.

Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $11,630/yr beside the $11,601 center sticker; toddler center care is $10,842/yr.

Steep-book age ladder for Archuleta County

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $11,601 $11,630
Toddler $10,842 $11,630
Preschool $9,849 $11,630
School Age $8,299 $6,765

Where Archuleta County ranks on infant-care cost

Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices

$11,601 more affordable than 21% of 2,661 US counties

This county $2,500 $32,500 every U.S. county, bucketed by value

Each bar is a $2.5K-wide band; taller bars hold more US counties. The dashed line + filled bar mark this entry. Hover or tap any bar for its full count, share, and where it sits relative to this entry.

Source U.S. Department of Labor, National Database of Childcare Prices · 2022

Archuleta County vs. every other Colorado county: income vs. infant-care cost

Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Colorado counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Colorado median.

Median household income vs Avg. annual infant care 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 30 entities by Median household income (X) and Avg. annual infant care (Y), with a crosshair dividing the plot into four quadrants. High income, high costLow income, high costHigh income, low costLow income, low cost $0$50,000$100,000$150,000 $0$5,000$10,000$15,000$20,000$25,000 Median household income Avg. annual infant care

Within Colorado, Archuleta County has higher income but lower infant-care cost than the typical Colorado county (its national standing, the 21st percentile for infant-care affordability nationally, is a separate comparison against every U.S. county, not just its own state).

Full NDCP Care Ladder in Archuleta County

Archuleta County sits in the steep-price third of NDCP-priced counties (HIGH), read center premiums and the infant-to-school-age drop as county-specific, not a clone caption.

Age Center Family Center premium
Infant $11,601 $11,630 $-29 (-0.2%)
Toddler $10,842 $11,630 $-788 (-6.8%)
Preschool $9,849 $11,630 $-1,781 (-15.3%)
School Age $8,299 $6,765 +$1,534 (+22.7%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $40,591/year versus $41,655/year for family care ($1,064 less at a center). Infant center care runs 1.4× school-age center care here. Among the 62Colorado counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Archuleta County ranks #29 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

Archuleta County premium reading

The standout signal in Archuleta County, CO is the center–family premium: center infant care costs $-29/yr more than family care (narrow premium tercile) beside a $11,601 center sticker.

Heavy-burden tercile counties like Archuleta County put infant center care at 17.4% of a $66,813 ACS median, well above the HHS 7% line and already in the steep sticker third of the national book. Treat subsidy and family-setting trade-offs as first-order, not footnotes.

For how to vet a licensed provider (inspection reports, QRIS ratings, CCDF subsidy intake), see Choosing Quality Childcare. Rate methodology: how these numbers are computed.

3 years of federal survey data (2014–2022) show how center-based infant care has moved.

+34.1% since 2014
Infant center care: $8,648 → $11,601
$11,601/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
3 years
Data available (2014–2022)
2014
$8,648
2015
$9,017
2022
$11,601
View full data table (all care types) ▼
Year Ctr Infant
2008 N/A
2009 N/A
2010 N/A
2011 N/A
2012 N/A
2013 N/A
2014 $8,648
2015 $9,017
2016 N/A
2017 N/A
2018 N/A
2019 N/A
2020 N/A
2021 N/A
2022 $11,601

What to do with Archuleta County

Infant center care here runs 17.4% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.

  • Archuleta County spends 17.4% of median income on infant center care, above the HHS 7%-of-income affordability line. See exactly where your own household income lands. Affordability calculator
  • $11,601/yr center infant sticker (HIGH) - see how Archuleta County compares against the full national ladder. National rankings
  • If care is straining the budget, federal and state programs (CCDF, Head Start) can cut it sharply. Check whether Archuleta County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.