County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in Chautauqua County, KS
The standout signal in Chautauqua County, KS is sticker price: center infant care runs $4,971/yr (QUIET · quiet-price tercile · #11 of 2,662), 48% below the U.S. average.
Data updated 2026-07-05
- $4,971
- Center Infant/yr
- $5,117
- Family Infant/yr
- $51,210
- Median Income
- 9.7%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
Chautauqua County pairs the cheapest infant care in the country with a light income burden on families.
- Top 1%
- cheapest nationally
- Light
- income-burden tier
- Narrow
- family-vs-infant price gap
- #11
- of 2,662 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.
Quiet-price tercile: center infant care is $4,971/yr with family care at $5,117/yr (9.7% of median income), absolute stickers are low; capacity and waitlists still bind.
Quiet-book age ladder for Chautauqua County
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $4,971 | $5,117 |
| Toddler | $5,075 | $4,333 |
| Preschool | $5,075 | $4,333 |
| School Age | $4,285 | $4,333 |
Where Chautauqua County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$4,971 Among the most affordable more affordable than 97% 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
Chautauqua County vs. every other Kansas county: income vs. infant-care cost
Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Kansas counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Kansas median.
Within Kansas, Chautauqua County has lower income but higher infant-care cost than the typical Kansas county (its national standing, the cheapest infant care in the country, is a separate comparison against every U.S. county, not just its own state).
Full NDCP Care Ladder in Chautauqua County
Chautauqua 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 | $4,971 | $5,117 | $-146 (-2.9%) |
| Toddler | $5,075 | $4,333 | +$742 (+17.1%) |
| Preschool | $5,075 | $4,333 | +$742 (+17.1%) |
| School Age | $4,285 | $4,333 | $-48 (-1.1%) |
Across all four ages, a center path totals $19,406/year versus $18,116/year for family care ($1,290 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.16× school-age center care here. Among the 105Kansas counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Chautauqua County ranks #9 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).
Chautauqua County sticker reading
The standout signal in Chautauqua County, KS is sticker price: center infant care runs $4,971/yr (QUIET · quiet-price tercile · #11 of 2,662), 48% below the U.S. average.
Light-burden tercile reading: Chautauqua County keeps infant center care at 9.7% of a $51,210 median (OVER7). Sticker still matters (QUIET), 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.
Historical Price Trends (2008–2022)
Center-based infant care costs over 2008–2022 (15 years of NDCP data).
View full data table (all care types) ▼
| Year | Ctr Infant |
|---|---|
| 2008 | $4,805 |
| 2009 | $4,482 |
| 2010 | $4,160 |
| 2011 | $4,285 |
| 2012 | $4,410 |
| 2013 | $4,992 |
| 2014 | $5,169 |
| 2015 | $5,346 |
| 2016 | $5,522 |
| 2017 | $5,699 |
| 2018 | $5,554 |
| 2019 | $5,408 |
| 2020 | $5,262 |
| 2021 | $5,117 |
| 2022 | $4,971 |
Nearest infant-price counties in Kansas
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Chautauqua County's QUIET NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with Chautauqua County
Infant center care here runs 9.7% of the local median income (OVER7), check where your own household lands.
- Chautauqua County spends 9.7% 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
- $4,971/yr center infant sticker (QUIET) - see how Chautauqua 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 Chautauqua County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.