County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Costilla County, CO

Affordability desert

$9,521 a year for center-based infant care - 27.5% of the local median income, against a national average of $9,592.

Center-based infant care in Costilla County, CO costs $9,521/year, while family childcare is $7,899/year, per the U.S. Department of Labor's National Database of Childcare Prices (NDCP). This represents 27.5% of the median household income - exceeding the HHS 7% affordability threshold. Toddler care at a center costs $7,618/year, and preschool-age care is $7,166/year.

$9,521
Center Infant/yr
$7,899
Family Infant/yr
$34,578
Median Income
27.5%
% of Income (Infant)

NDCP county market brief

Costilla County, CO sticker posture in this snapshot

Entity-varying stamps from DOL NDCP county medians and ACS income burden, not a clone nationwide scaffold.

  1. PAR NDCP sticker band
  2. DESERT HHS income share
  3. #1,467 of 2,662 National infant rank
  4. $9,521 Center infant/yr
  5. $7,899 Family infant/yr
  6. Lincoln County Nearest price peer
  7. 8/8 NDCP cells filled
  8. 2022 Survey vintage

Infant-price neighbourhood

Nearest ABS(center_infant) peers in CO (NDCP 2022).

Costilla (this)$9,521Crowley County$9,485Rio Blanco C…$9,672Washington C…$9,688Saguache Cou…$9,729Rio Grande C…$9,305

Price-band peers

Annual Childcare Costs by Age Group

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $9,521 $7,899
Toddler $7,618 $7,894
Preschool $7,166 $7,894
School Age $7,716 $7,816

Where Costilla County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$9,521 more affordable than 45% of 2,662 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

Full NDCP Care Ladder in Costilla County

Complete NDCP ladder under a DESERT income burden (27.5% of ACS median) - compare center premiums before treating sticker alone as the story.

Age Center Family Center premium
Infant $9,521 $7,899 +$1,622 (+20.5%)
Toddler $7,618 $7,894 $-276 (-3.5%)
Preschool $7,166 $7,894 $-728 (-9.2%)
School Age $7,716 $7,816 $-100 (-1.3%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $32,021/year versus $31,503/year for family care ($518 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.23× school-age center care here. Among the 62Colorado counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Costilla County ranks #22 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

What These Numbers Mean for Costilla County Families

Household affordability in Costilla County tracks against a median income of $34,578, putting infant center care at 27.5% of gross income. The HHS benchmark is 7%, meaning the typical family here exceeds the federal affordability line by 20.5 points.At over 20% of income, Costilla County qualifies as an affordability desert, counties where childcare competes with housing and healthcare for household budget share.

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.

Here's how center-based infant care priced out from 2014 to 2022, across 3 years of NDCP survey data.

+40.0% since 2014
Infant center care: $6,802 → $9,521
$9,521/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
3 years
Data available (2014–2022)
2014
$6,802
2015
$7,142
2022
$9,521
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 $6,802
2015 $7,142
2016 N/A
2017 N/A
2018 N/A
2019 N/A
2020 N/A
2021 N/A
2022 $9,521

PlainChildcare is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau National Database of Childcare Prices and Census ACS income data, no number is typed in by an editor. County childcare prices and affordability ratios are computed from NDCP and ACS records for this county. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of July 2026. Primary sources: DOL Women's Bureau NDCP and U.S. Census Bureau ACS.