County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in Columbus County, NC
The standout signal in Columbus County, NC is sticker price: center infant care runs $7,239/yr (MID · quiet-price tercile · #809 of 2,661), 25% below the U.S. average.
Data updated 2026-09-24
- $7,239
- Center Infant/yr
- $5,846
- Family Infant/yr
- $43,206
- Median Income
- 16.8%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
Columbus County pairs below-national-median infant care costs with a heavy income burden on families.
- Top 30%
- cheapest nationally
- Heavy
- income-burden tier
- Moderate
- family-vs-infant price gap
- #809
- 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.
Quiet-price tercile: center infant care is $7,239/yr with family care at $5,846/yr (16.8% of median income), absolute stickers are low; capacity and waitlists still bind.
Quiet-book age ladder for Columbus County
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $7,239 | $5,846 |
| Toddler | $7,019 | $4,939 |
| Preschool | $6,031 | $4,728 |
| School Age | $4,653 | $6,943 |
Where Columbus County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$7,239 Among the most affordable more affordable than 70% 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
Columbus 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, Columbus County has lower income and lower infant-care cost than the typical North Carolina 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 Columbus County
Columbus 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 | $7,239 | $5,846 | +$1,393 (+23.8%) |
| Toddler | $7,019 | $4,939 | +$2,080 (+42.1%) |
| Preschool | $6,031 | $4,728 | +$1,303 (+27.6%) |
| School Age | $4,653 | $6,943 | $-2,290 (-33%) |
Across all four ages, a center path totals $24,942/year versus $22,456/year for family care ($2,486 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.56× school-age center care here. Among the 98North Carolina counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Columbus County ranks #13 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).
Columbus County sticker reading
The standout signal in Columbus County, NC is sticker price: center infant care runs $7,239/yr (MID · quiet-price tercile · #809 of 2,661), 25% below the U.S. average.
Heavy-burden tercile counties like Columbus County put infant center care at 16.8% of a $43,206 ACS median, well above the HHS 7% line. 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 | $7,340 |
| 2015 | $7,260 |
| 2016 | $7,180 |
| 2017 | $7,100 |
| 2018 | $7,019 |
| 2019 | $6,939 |
| 2020 | $6,859 |
| 2021 | N/A |
| 2022 | $7,239 |
Nearest infant-price counties in North Carolina
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Columbus County's MID NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with Columbus County
Infant center care here runs 16.8% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.
- Columbus County spends 16.8% 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
- $7,239/yr center infant sticker (MID) - see how Columbus 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 Columbus County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.