County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Carbon County, WY

The standout signal in Carbon County, WY is the center–family premium: center infant care costs $-423/yr more than family care (narrow premium tercile) beside a $7,147 center sticker.

Data updated 2026-09-24

$7,147
Center Infant/yr
$7,570
Family Infant/yr
$65,196
Median Income
11.0%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Carbon County pairs below-national-median infant care costs with a light income burden on families.

Top 30%
cheapest nationally
Light
income-burden tier
Narrow
family-vs-infant price gap
#799
of 2,661 priced counties
B
PlainChildcare Composite Score
64/100
Carbon County, WY

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 A
Center-based infant care costs 11% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)
Preschool care burden B
Center-based preschool care costs 10.6% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)
School-age care burden C
Center-based school-age care costs 10.6% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)
Economic hardship C
10.2% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)
Price-change feed

National sticker context: $9,593 average.

Quiet-price tercile: center infant care is $7,147/yr with family care at $7,570/yr (11.0% of median income), absolute stickers are low; capacity and waitlists still bind.

Quiet-book age ladder for Carbon County

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $7,147 $7,570
Toddler $6,901 $6,683
Preschool $6,901 $6,683
School Age $6,901 $4,103

Where Carbon County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$7,147 Among the most affordable more affordable than 70% 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

Carbon County vs. every other Wyoming county: income vs. infant-care cost

Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 21 Wyoming counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Wyoming median.

Median household income vs Avg. annual infant care 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 21 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 $40,000$60,000$80,000$100,000$120,000 $5,000$10,000$15,000$20,000 Median household income Avg. annual infant care

Within Wyoming, Carbon County has lower income and lower infant-care cost than the typical Wyoming county (its national standing, below-national-median infant care costs, is a separate comparison against every U.S. county, not just its own state).

Full NDCP Care Ladder in Carbon County

Carbon County sits in the quieter-price third (MID), complete ladders here still show setting trade-offs even when the absolute sticker is low.

Age Center Family Center premium
Infant $7,147 $7,570 $-423 (-5.6%)
Toddler $6,901 $6,683 +$218 (+3.3%)
Preschool $6,901 $6,683 +$218 (+3.3%)
School Age $6,901 $4,103 +$2,798 (+68.2%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $27,850/year versus $25,039/year for family care ($2,811 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.04× school-age center care here. Among the 12Wyoming counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Carbon County ranks #4 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

Carbon County premium reading

The standout signal in Carbon County, WY is the center–family premium: center infant care costs $-423/yr more than family care (narrow premium tercile) beside a $7,147 center sticker.

Light-burden tercile reading: Carbon County keeps infant center care at 11.0% of a $65,196 median (OVER7). Sticker still matters (MID), but income share is not the binding constraint versus waitlists and licensed capacity.

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 2014 to 2022, across 9 years of NDCP survey data.

-11.7% since 2014
Infant center care: $8,096 → $7,147
$7,147/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
9 years
Data available (2014–2022)
2014
$8,096
2015
$7,770
2016
$7,444
2017
$7,117
2018
$7,123
2019
$7,129
2020
$7,135
2021
$7,141
2022
$7,147
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 $8,096
2015 $7,770
2016 $7,444
2017 $7,117
2018 $7,123
2019 $7,129
2020 $7,135
2021 $7,141
2022 $7,147

What to do with Carbon County

Infant center care here runs 11.0% of the local median income (OVER7), check where your own household lands.

  • Carbon County spends 11.0% 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
  • $7,147/yr center infant sticker (MID) - see how Carbon 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 Carbon County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

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