County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Cherokee County, GA

The standout signal in Cherokee County, GA is income burden: infant center care takes 10.6% of median ACS income (OVER7 · light-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 11% above the national average.

Data updated 2026-09-24

$10,660
Center Infant/yr
$8,476
Family Infant/yr
$100,824
Median Income
10.6%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Cherokee County pairs the 31st percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a light income burden on families.

31st pct.
affordability nationally
Light
income-burden tier
Moderate
family-vs-infant price gap
#1,831
of 2,661 priced counties
A
PlainChildcare Composite Score
87/100
Cherokee County, GA

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 10.6% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)
Preschool care burden A
Center-based preschool care costs 9.2% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)
School-age care burden A
Center-based school-age care costs 4.2% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)
Economic hardship A
5.3% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)
Price-change feed

National sticker context: $9,593 average.

Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $8,476/yr beside the $10,660 center sticker; toddler center care is $9,766/yr.

Steep-book age ladder for Cherokee County

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $10,660 $8,476
Toddler $9,766 $7,956
Preschool $9,308 $8,008
School Age $4,264 $4,004

Where Cherokee County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$10,660 more affordable than 31% 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

Cherokee County vs. every other Georgia county: income vs. infant-care cost

Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Georgia counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Georgia median.

Median household income vs Avg. annual infant care 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 30 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 $20,000$40,000$60,000$80,000$100,000$120,000 $4,000$6,000$8,000$10,000$12,000 Median household income Avg. annual infant care

Within Georgia, Cherokee County has higher income and higher infant-care cost than the typical Georgia county (its national standing, the 31st 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 Cherokee County

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

Age Center Family Center premium
Infant $10,660 $8,476 +$2,184 (+25.8%)
Toddler $9,766 $7,956 +$1,810 (+22.8%)
Preschool $9,308 $8,008 +$1,300 (+16.2%)
School Age $4,264 $4,004 +$260 (+6.5%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $33,998/year versus $28,444/year for family care ($5,554 more at a center). Infant center care runs 2.5× school-age center care here. Among the 159Georgia counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Cherokee County ranks #147 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

Cherokee County burden reading

The standout signal in Cherokee County, GA is income burden: infant center care takes 10.6% of median ACS income (OVER7 · light-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 11% above the national average.

Light-burden tercile reading: Cherokee County keeps infant center care at 10.6% of a $100,824 median (OVER7). Sticker still matters (HIGH), 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.

Center-based infant care costs over 2015–2022 (8 years of NDCP data).

+20.6% since 2015
Infant center care: $8,840 → $10,660
$10,660/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
8 years
Data available (2015–2022)
2015
$8,840
2016
$9,100
2017
$9,360
2018
$9,620
2019
$9,880
2020
$10,140
2021
$10,400
2022
$10,660
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 N/A
2015 $8,840
2016 $9,100
2017 $9,360
2018 $9,620
2019 $9,880
2020 $10,140
2021 $10,400
2022 $10,660

What to do with Cherokee County

Infant center care here runs 10.6% of the local median income (OVER7), check where your own household lands.

  • Cherokee County spends 10.6% 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
  • $10,660/yr center infant sticker (HIGH) - see how Cherokee 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 Cherokee County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

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