How much does childcare cost in Baltimore County, MD?

Center-based infant care runs $17,955/year in Baltimore County, MD. Infants in a family childcare setting cost $11,924/year, and preschool-age center care is $13,290/year.

Is childcare affordable in Baltimore County, MD?

Baltimore County, MD's median household income is $88,157; center-based infant care eats 20.4% of that. The federal affordability line is 7%. Childcare here exceeds the affordability threshold by 13.4 percentage points.

What is the cheapest childcare option in Baltimore County, MD?

In Baltimore County, MD, a family childcare home is the cheaper preschool option: $10,590/year versus $13,290/year at a center, saving $2,700/year. Family settings typically mean fewer children per caregiver.

How much does before- and after-school care cost in Baltimore County, MD?

Before- and after-school programs for ages 6-12 run $12,098/year at a center in Baltimore County, MD and $9,578/year for family childcare. That covers before-school drop-off, after-school pickup, and summer coverage for working parents.

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County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Baltimore County, MD

The standout signal in Baltimore County, MD is sticker price: center infant care runs $17,955/yr (PEAK · steep-price tercile · #2,560 of 2,662), 87% above the U.S. average.

Compiled by PlainChildcare

Data updated 2026-07-05

$17,955
Center Infant/yr: $11,924
Family Infant/yr: $88,157
Median Income: 20.4%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Baltimore County pairs the 4th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a heavy income burden on families.

4th pct.
affordability nationally: Heavy
income-burden tier: Wide
family-vs-infant price gap: #2,560
of 2,662 priced counties

PlainChildcare Composite Score

32/100

Baltimore County, MD

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 F

Center-based infant care costs 20.4% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)

Preschool care burden D

Center-based preschool care costs 15.1% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)

School-age care burden F

Center-based school-age care costs 13.7% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)

Economic hardship B

7% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)

Affordability desert Price-change feed

Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $11,924/yr beside the $17,955 center sticker; toddler center care is $13,290/yr.

Steep-book age ladder for Baltimore County

Age Group	Center-Based	Family Childcare	Difference
Infant	$17,955	$11,924	+$6,031
Toddler	$13,290	$10,590	+$2,700
Preschool	$13,290	$10,590	+$2,700
School Age	$12,098	$9,578	+$2,520

Where Baltimore County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$17,955 more affordable than 4% of 2,662 US counties

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

Within Maryland, Baltimore County has higher income and higher infant-care cost than the typical Maryland county (its national standing, the 4th 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 Baltimore County

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

Age	Center	Family	Center premium
Infant	$17,955	$11,924	+$6,031 (+50.6%)
Toddler	$13,290	$10,590	+$2,700 (+25.5%)
Preschool	$13,290	$10,590	+$2,700 (+25.5%)
School Age	$12,098	$9,578	+$2,520 (+26.3%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $56,633/year versus $42,682/year for family care ($13,951 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.48× school-age center care here. Among the 24Maryland counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Baltimore County ranks #22 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

Baltimore County sticker reading

The standout signal in Baltimore County, MD is sticker price: center infant care runs $17,955/yr (PEAK · steep-price tercile · #2,560 of 2,662), 87% above the U.S. average.

Heavy-burden tercile counties like Baltimore County put infant center care at 20.4% of a $88,157 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.

Historical Price Trends (2008–2022)

The NDCP has tracked center-based infant care here for 10 years, from 2013 through 2022.

+73.8% since 2013

Infant center care: $10,333 → $17,955

$17,955/yr

Most recent annual cost (2022)

10 years

Data available (2013–2022)

2013

$10,333

2014

$10,478

2015

$10,623

2016

$10,767

2017

$10,912

2018

$12,320

2019

$13,729

2020

$15,137

2021

$16,546

2022

$17,955

View full data table (all care types) ▼

Year	Ctr Infant	Ctr Toddler	Ctr Preschool	Ctr School Age	Fam Infant	Fam Toddler
2008	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2009	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2010	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2011	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2012	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2013	$10,333	$7,730	$7,730	$7,368	$7,629	$6,704
2014	$10,478	$7,757	$7,757	$7,280	$7,800	$6,760
2015	$10,623	$7,784	$7,784	$7,192	$7,971	$6,816
2016	$10,767	$7,810	$7,810	$7,103	$8,142	$6,872
2017	$10,912	$7,837	$7,837	$7,015	$8,314	$6,928
2018	$12,320	$8,928	$8,928	$8,031	$9,036	$7,661
2019	$13,729	$10,018	$10,018	$9,048	$9,758	$8,393
2020	$15,137	$11,109	$11,109	$10,065	$10,480	$9,125
2021	$16,546	$12,199	$12,199	$11,081	$11,202	$9,858
2022	$17,955	$13,290	$13,290	$12,098	$11,924	$10,590

Nearest infant-price counties in Maryland

Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Baltimore County's PEAK NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.

Anne Arundel County, MD

Infant: $17,024 · 14.7% of income

Prince George's County, MD

Infant: $17,024 · 17.4% of income

Frederick County, MD

Infant: $16,897 · 14.6% of income

Harford County, MD

Infant: $16,897 · 15.9% of income

Calvert County, MD

Infant: $16,816 · 13.1% of income

Carroll County, MD

Infant: $16,816 · 15.1% of income

What to do with Baltimore County

Infant center care here runs 20.4% of the local median income (DESERT), check where your own household lands.

Baltimore County spends 20.4% 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
$17,955/yr center infant sticker (PEAK) - see how Baltimore 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 Baltimore County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

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

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, National Database of Childcare Prices (2022); median household income: U.S. Census ACS. See methodology for how costs and affordability are computed. As-of July 2026.

Disclaimer: informational only, not professional advice. See full disclaimer.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Report a data error on this page

Verify with DOL Women's Bureau NDCP → · Verify with U.S. Census ACS → · Verify with HUD →