County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in District of Columbia, DC
The standout signal in District of Columbia, DC is sticker price: center infant care runs $25,480/yr (PEAK · steep-price tercile · #2,653 of 2,661), 166% above the U.S. average.
Data updated 2026-09-24
- $25,480
- Center Infant/yr
- $20,800
- Family Infant/yr
- $101,722
- Median Income
- 25.0%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
District of Columbia pairs the 0th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a heavy income burden on families.
- 0th pct.
- affordability nationally
- Heavy
- income-burden tier
- Wide
- family-vs-infant price gap
- #2,653
- 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.
Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $20,800/yr beside the $25,480 center sticker; toddler center care is $23,431/yr.
Steep-book age ladder for District of Columbia
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $25,480 | $20,800 |
| Toddler | $23,431 | $20,449 |
| Preschool | $20,410 | $19,149 |
| School Age | N/A | N/A |
Where District of Columbia ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$25,480 more affordable than 0% 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
District of Columbia sticker reading
The standout signal in District of Columbia, DC is sticker price: center infant care runs $25,480/yr (PEAK · steep-price tercile · #2,653 of 2,661), 166% above the U.S. average.
Heavy-burden tercile counties like District of Columbia put infant center care at 25.0% of a $101,722 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)
3 years of federal survey data (2011–2022) show how center-based infant care has moved.
View full data table (all care types) ▼
| Year | Ctr Infant |
|---|---|
| 2008 | N/A |
| 2009 | N/A |
| 2010 | N/A |
| 2011 | $14,817 |
| 2012 | $15,786 |
| 2013 | N/A |
| 2014 | N/A |
| 2015 | N/A |
| 2016 | N/A |
| 2017 | N/A |
| 2018 | N/A |
| 2019 | N/A |
| 2020 | N/A |
| 2021 | N/A |
| 2022 | $25,480 |
What to do with District of Columbia
Infant center care here runs 25.0% of the local median income (DESERT), check where your own household lands.
- District of Columbia spends 25.0% 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
- $25,480/yr center infant sticker (PEAK) - see how District of Columbia 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 District of Columbia families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.