County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Christian County, KY

The standout signal in Christian County, KY is sticker price: center infant care runs $5,789/yr (QUIET · quiet-price tercile · #241 of 2,661), 40% below the U.S. average.

Data updated 2026-09-24

$5,789
Center Infant/yr
$5,815
Family Infant/yr
$48,920
Median Income
11.8%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Christian County pairs top-10% cheapest infant care nationally with a light income burden on families.

Top 9%
cheapest nationally
Light
income-burden tier
Narrow
family-vs-infant price gap
#241
of 2,661 priced counties
C
PlainChildcare Composite Score
56/100
Christian County, KY

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 B
Center-based infant care costs 11.8% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)
Preschool care burden B
Center-based preschool care costs 10.7% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)
School-age care burden C
Center-based school-age care costs 11.4% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)
Economic hardship D
12.6% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)
Price-change feed

Quiet-price tercile: center infant care is $5,789/yr with family care at $5,815/yr (11.8% of median income), absolute stickers are low; capacity and waitlists still bind.

Quiet-book age ladder for Christian County

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $5,789 $5,815
Toddler $5,239 $5,989
Preschool $5,239 $5,989
School Age $5,571 $6,509

Where Christian County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$5,789 Among the most affordable more affordable than 91% 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

Christian County vs. every other Kentucky county: income vs. infant-care cost

Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Kentucky counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Kentucky 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 $4,000$6,000$8,000$10,000$12,000 Median household income Avg. annual infant care

Within Kentucky, Christian County has lower income and lower infant-care cost than the typical Kentucky 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 Christian County

Christian 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 $5,789 $5,815 $-26 (-0.4%)
Toddler $5,239 $5,989 $-750 (-12.5%)
Preschool $5,239 $5,989 $-750 (-12.5%)
School Age $5,571 $6,509 $-938 (-14.4%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $21,838/year versus $24,302/year for family care ($2,464 less at a center). Infant center care runs 1.04× school-age center care here. Among the 120Kentucky counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Christian County ranks #25 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

Christian County sticker reading

The standout signal in Christian County, KY is sticker price: center infant care runs $5,789/yr (QUIET · quiet-price tercile · #241 of 2,661), 40% below the U.S. average.

Light-burden tercile reading: Christian County keeps infant center care at 11.8% of a $48,920 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.

The NDCP has tracked center-based infant care here for 15 years, from 2008 through 2022.

+33.4% since 2008
Infant center care: $4,338 → $5,789
$5,789/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
15 years
Data available (2008–2022)
2008
$4,338
2009
$4,555
2010
$4,772
2011
$4,989
2012
$5,206
2013
$5,423
2014
$5,831
2015
$6,240
2016
$6,370
2017
$6,500
2018
$6,358
2019
$6,216
2020
$6,073
2021
$5,931
2022
$5,789
View full data table (all care types) ▼
Year Ctr Infant
2008 $4,338
2009 $4,555
2010 $4,772
2011 $4,989
2012 $5,206
2013 $5,423
2014 $5,831
2015 $6,240
2016 $6,370
2017 $6,500
2018 $6,358
2019 $6,216
2020 $6,073
2021 $5,931
2022 $5,789

What to do with Christian County

Infant center care here runs 11.8% of the local median income (OVER7), check where your own household lands.

  • Christian County spends 11.8% 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
  • $5,789/yr center infant sticker (QUIET) - see how Christian 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 Christian County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

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