County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Bristol City, VA

$6,703 a year for center-based infant care - 14.8% of the local median income, against a national average of $9,592.

Bristol City, VA families pay $6,703/year for center-based infant care, while family childcare is $4,844/year, based on National Database of Childcare Prices survey data from the U.S. Department of Labor. This represents 14.8% of the median household income - exceeding the HHS 7% affordability threshold. Toddler care at a center costs $5,460/year, and preschool-age care is $5,460/year.

$6,703
Center Infant/yr
$4,844
Family Infant/yr
$45,250
Median Income
14.8%
% of Income (Infant)

NDCP county market brief

Bristol City, VA sticker posture in this snapshot

Entity-varying stamps from DOL NDCP county medians and ACS income burden, not a clone nationwide scaffold.

  1. QUIET NDCP sticker band
  2. HEAVY HHS income share
  3. #576 of 2,662 National infant rank
  4. $6,703 Center infant/yr
  5. $4,844 Family infant/yr
  6. Greene County Nearest price peer
  7. 8/8 NDCP cells filled
  8. 2022 Survey vintage

Infant-price neighbourhood

Nearest ABS(center_infant) peers in VA (NDCP 2022).

Bristol (this)$6,703Henry County$6,703Martinsville…$6,703Smyth County$6,783Washington C…$6,842Wythe County$6,879

Price-band peers

Annual Childcare Costs by Age Group

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $6,703 $4,844
Toddler $5,460 $4,680
Preschool $5,460 $4,680
School Age $4,680 $5,943

Where Bristol City ranks on infant-care cost

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

$6,703 Among the most affordable more affordable than 78% of 2,662 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

Full NDCP Care Ladder in Bristol City

Complete NDCP ladder under a HEAVY income burden (14.8% of ACS median) - compare center premiums before treating sticker alone as the story.

Age Center Family Center premium
Infant $6,703 $4,844 +$1,859 (+38.4%)
Toddler $5,460 $4,680 +$780 (+16.7%)
Preschool $5,460 $4,680 +$780 (+16.7%)
School Age $4,680 $5,943 $-1,263 (-21.3%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $22,303/year versus $20,147/year for family care ($2,156 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.43× school-age center care here. Among the 134Virginia counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Bristol City ranks #13 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

What These Numbers Mean for Bristol City Families

Bristol City's median household income of $45,250 sets the bar for what counts as affordable care here, putting infant center care at 14.8% of gross income. Against the federal 7% affordability benchmark, the typical family here exceeds the federal affordability line by 7.8 points.Bristol City families generally find care more manageable than the national picture, though waitlists at licensed providers remain the real bottleneck.

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.

Here's how center-based infant care priced out from 2009 to 2022, across 13 years of NDCP survey data.

+5.2% since 2009
Infant center care: $6,370 → $6,703
$6,703/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
13 years
Data available (2009–2022)
2009
$6,370
2010
$6,240
2011
$6,110
2012
$5,980
2013
$6,067
2014
$6,153
2015
$6,240
2016
$6,327
2017
$6,413
2018
$6,500
2019
$6,587
2020
$6,673
2022
$6,703
View full data table (all care types)
Year Ctr Infant
2008 N/A
2009 $6,370
2010 $6,240
2011 $6,110
2012 $5,980
2013 $6,067
2014 $6,153
2015 $6,240
2016 $6,327
2017 $6,413
2018 $6,500
2019 $6,587
2020 $6,673
2021 N/A
2022 $6,703

PlainChildcare is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau National Database of Childcare Prices and Census ACS income data, no number is typed in by an editor. County childcare prices and affordability ratios are computed from NDCP and ACS records for this county. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of July 2026. Primary sources: DOL Women's Bureau NDCP and U.S. Census Bureau ACS.