County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Douglas County, OR

The standout signal in Douglas County, OR is income burden: infant center care takes 19.5% of median ACS income (HEAVY · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 15% above the national average.

Data updated 2026-07-05

$11,013
Center Infant/yr
$9,000
Family Infant/yr
$56,440
Median Income
19.5%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Douglas County pairs the 26th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a heavy income burden on families.

26th pct.
affordability nationally
Heavy
income-burden tier
Moderate
family-vs-infant price gap
#1,982
of 2,662 priced counties
C
PlainChildcare Composite Score
42/100
Douglas County, OR

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.

Infant care burden F
Center-based infant care costs 19.5% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)
Preschool care burden D
Center-based preschool care costs 14.7% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)
School-age care burden A
Center-based school-age care costs 6.2% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)
Economic hardship C
9% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)
Price-change feed

National sticker context: $9,592 average.

Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $9,000/yr beside the $11,013 center sticker; toddler center care is $10,090/yr.

Steep-book age ladder for Douglas County

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $11,013 $9,000
Toddler $10,090 $8,617
Preschool $8,284 $8,085
School Age $3,521 $7,485

Where Douglas County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$11,013 more affordable than 26% 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

Douglas County vs. every other Oregon county: income vs. infant-care cost

Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Oregon counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Oregon median.

Median household income vs Avg. annual infant care 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 30 entities by Median household income (X) and Avg. annual infant care (Y), with a crosshair dividing the plot into four quadrants. High income, high costLow income, high costHigh income, low costLow income, low cost $40,000$60,000$80,000$100,000 $5,000$10,000$15,000$20,000$25,000 Median household income Avg. annual infant care

Within Oregon, Douglas County has lower income but higher infant-care cost than the typical Oregon county (its national standing, the 26th 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 Douglas County

Douglas 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 $11,013 $9,000 +$2,013 (+22.4%)
Toddler $10,090 $8,617 +$1,473 (+17.1%)
Preschool $8,284 $8,085 +$199 (+2.5%)
School Age $3,521 $7,485 $-3,964 (-53%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $32,908/year versus $33,187/year for family care ($279 less at a center). Infant center care runs 3.13× school-age center care here. Among the 36Oregon counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Douglas County ranks #20 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

Douglas County burden reading

The standout signal in Douglas County, OR is income burden: infant center care takes 19.5% of median ACS income (HEAVY · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 15% above the national average.

Heavy-burden tercile counties like Douglas County put infant center care at 19.5% of a $56,440 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.

Center-based infant care costs over 2008–2022 (15 years of NDCP data).

+101.7% since 2008
Infant center care: $5,460 → $11,013
$11,013/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
15 years
Data available (2008–2022)
2008
$5,460
2009
$6,720
2010
$7,980
2011
$8,040
2012
$8,100
2013
$7,650
2014
$7,200
2015
$7,500
2016
$7,800
2017
$8,070
2018
$8,340
2019
$9,270
2020
$10,200
2021
$10,606
2022
$11,013
View full data table (all care types)
Year Ctr Infant
2008 $5,460
2009 $6,720
2010 $7,980
2011 $8,040
2012 $8,100
2013 $7,650
2014 $7,200
2015 $7,500
2016 $7,800
2017 $8,070
2018 $8,340
2019 $9,270
2020 $10,200
2021 $10,606
2022 $11,013

What to do with Douglas County

Infant center care here runs 19.5% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.

  • Douglas County spends 19.5% 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
  • $11,013/yr center infant sticker (HIGH) - see how Douglas 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 Douglas County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.