County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in Clay County, NC
The standout signal in Clay County, NC is income burden: infant center care takes 19.0% of median ACS income (HEAVY · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 13% above the national average.
Data updated 2026-09-24
- $10,864
- Center Infant/yr
- $6,998
- Family Infant/yr
- $57,065
- Median Income
- 19.0%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
Clay County pairs the 29th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a heavy income burden on families.
- 29th pct.
- affordability nationally
- Heavy
- income-burden tier
- Wide
- family-vs-infant price gap
- #1,882
- of 2,661 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.
National sticker context: $9,593 average.
Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $6,998/yr beside the $10,864 center sticker; toddler center care is $7,134/yr.
Steep-book age ladder for Clay County
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $10,864 | $6,998 |
| Toddler | $7,134 | $5,948 |
| Preschool | $4,812 | $5,948 |
| School Age | $2,608 | $3,235 |
Where Clay County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$10,864 more affordable than 29% of 2,661 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
Clay County vs. every other North Carolina county: income vs. infant-care cost
Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 North Carolina counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the North Carolina median.
Within North Carolina, Clay County has higher income and higher infant-care cost than the typical North Carolina county (its national standing, the 29th 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 Clay County
Clay 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 | $10,864 | $6,998 | +$3,866 (+55.2%) |
| Toddler | $7,134 | $5,948 | +$1,186 (+19.9%) |
| Preschool | $4,812 | $5,948 | $-1,136 (-19.1%) |
| School Age | $2,608 | $3,235 | $-627 (-19.4%) |
Across all four ages, a center path totals $25,418/year versus $22,129/year for family care ($3,289 more at a center). Infant center care runs 4.17× school-age center care here. Among the 98North Carolina counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Clay County ranks #84 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).
Clay County burden reading
The standout signal in Clay County, NC is income burden: infant center care takes 19.0% of median ACS income (HEAVY · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 13% above the national average.
Heavy-burden tercile counties like Clay County put infant center care at 19.0% of a $57,065 ACS median, well above the HHS 7% line and already in the steep sticker third of the national book. Treat subsidy and family-setting trade-offs as first-order, not footnotes.
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 2014–2022 (8 years of NDCP data).
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 | $8,069 |
| 2015 | $7,879 |
| 2016 | $8,561 |
| 2017 | $9,242 |
| 2018 | $9,924 |
| 2019 | $10,606 |
| 2020 | $11,288 |
| 2021 | N/A |
| 2022 | $10,864 |
Nearest infant-price counties in North Carolina
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Clay County's HIGH NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with Clay County
Infant center care here runs 19.0% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.
- Clay County spends 19.0% 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
- $10,864/yr center infant sticker (HIGH) - see how Clay 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 Clay County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.