County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in Bladen County, NC
The standout signal in Bladen County, NC is the center–family premium: center infant care costs $-2,100/yr more than family care (narrow premium tercile) beside a $5,692 center sticker.
Data updated 2026-09-24
- $5,692
- Center Infant/yr
- $7,792
- Family Infant/yr
- $40,476
- Median Income
- 14.1%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
Bladen County pairs top-10% cheapest infant care nationally with a moderate income burden on families.
- Top 8%
- cheapest nationally
- Moderate
- income-burden tier
- Narrow
- family-vs-infant price gap
- #224
- of 2,661 priced counties
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.
National sticker context: $9,593 average.
Quiet-price tercile: center infant care is $5,692/yr with family care at $7,792/yr (14.1% of median income), absolute stickers are low; capacity and waitlists still bind.
Quiet-book age ladder for Bladen County
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $5,692 | $7,792 |
| Toddler | $5,662 | $6,000 |
| Preschool | $5,662 | $5,689 |
| School Age | $3,068 | $3,425 |
Where Bladen County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$5,692 Among the most affordable more affordable than 92% of 2,661 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
Bladen County vs. every other North Carolina county: income vs. infant-care cost
Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 North Carolina counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the North Carolina median.
Within North Carolina, Bladen County has lower income and lower infant-care cost than the typical North Carolina county (its national standing, top-10% cheapest infant care nationally, is a separate comparison against every U.S. county, not just its own state).
Full NDCP Care Ladder in Bladen County
Bladen County sits in the quieter-price third (QUIET), complete ladders here still show setting trade-offs even when the absolute sticker is low.
| Age | Center | Family | Center premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infant | $5,692 | $7,792 | $-2,100 (-27%) |
| Toddler | $5,662 | $6,000 | $-338 (-5.6%) |
| Preschool | $5,662 | $5,689 | $-27 (-0.5%) |
| School Age | $3,068 | $3,425 | $-357 (-10.4%) |
Across all four ages, a center path totals $20,084/year versus $22,906/year for family care ($2,822 less at a center). Infant center care runs 1.86× school-age center care here. Among the 98North Carolina counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Bladen County ranks #2 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).
Bladen County premium reading
The standout signal in Bladen County, NC is the center–family premium: center infant care costs $-2,100/yr more than family care (narrow premium tercile) beside a $5,692 center sticker.
Mid-burden tercile: Bladen County spends 14.1% of a $40,476 median on infant center care (HEAVY). Pair the QUIET sticker with the age-group table before treating any single cell as the household story.
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)
Center-based infant care costs over 2014–2022 (8 years of NDCP data).
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 | $8,290 |
| 2015 | $7,518 |
| 2016 | $6,745 |
| 2017 | $5,972 |
| 2018 | $5,199 |
| 2019 | $4,427 |
| 2020 | $5,199 |
| 2021 | N/A |
| 2022 | $5,692 |
Nearest infant-price counties in North Carolina
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Bladen County's QUIET NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with Bladen County
Infant center care here runs 14.1% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.
- Bladen County spends 14.1% 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
- $5,692/yr center infant sticker (QUIET) - see how Bladen 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 Bladen County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.