County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in Custer County, MT
The standout signal in Custer County, MT is income burden: infant center care takes 20.3% of median ACS income (DESERT · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 30% above the national average.
Data updated 2026-09-24
- $12,427
- Center Infant/yr
- $10,028
- Family Infant/yr
- $61,114
- Median Income
- 20.3%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
Custer County pairs the 15th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a heavy income burden on families.
- 15th pct.
- affordability nationally
- Heavy
- income-burden tier
- Moderate
- family-vs-infant price gap
- #2,257
- 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 $10,028/yr beside the $12,427 center sticker; toddler center care is $12,869/yr.
Steep-book age ladder for Custer County
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $12,427 | $10,028 |
| Toddler | $12,869 | $10,210 |
| Preschool | $11,096 | $10,210 |
| School Age | $11,096 | $9,481 |
Where Custer County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$12,427 more affordable than 15% 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
Custer County vs. every other Montana county: income vs. infant-care cost
Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Montana counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Montana median.
Within Montana, Custer County has higher income and higher infant-care cost than the typical Montana county (its national standing, the 15th 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 Custer County
Custer 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 | $12,427 | $10,028 | +$2,399 (+23.9%) |
| Toddler | $12,869 | $10,210 | +$2,659 (+26%) |
| Preschool | $11,096 | $10,210 | +$886 (+8.7%) |
| School Age | $11,096 | $9,481 | +$1,615 (+17%) |
Across all four ages, a center path totals $47,488/year versus $39,929/year for family care ($7,559 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.12× school-age center care here. Among the 56Montana counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Custer County ranks #53 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).
Custer County burden reading
The standout signal in Custer County, MT is income burden: infant center care takes 20.3% of median ACS income (DESERT · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 30% above the national average.
Heavy-burden tercile counties like Custer County put infant center care at 20.3% of a $61,114 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 2015–2022 (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 | N/A |
| 2015 | $6,169 |
| 2016 | $7,063 |
| 2017 | $7,957 |
| 2018 | $8,851 |
| 2019 | $9,745 |
| 2020 | $10,639 |
| 2021 | $11,534 |
| 2022 | $12,427 |
Nearest infant-price counties in Montana
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Custer County's HIGH NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with Custer County
Infant center care here runs 20.3% of the local median income (DESERT), check where your own household lands.
- Custer County spends 20.3% 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
- $12,427/yr center infant sticker (HIGH) - see how Custer 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 Custer County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.