County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in Galax City, VA
The standout signal in Galax City, VA is sticker price: center infant care runs $6,167/yr (QUIET · quiet-price tercile · #371 of 2,661), 36% below the U.S. average.
Data updated 2026-09-24
- $6,167
- Center Infant/yr
- $4,844
- Family Infant/yr
- $44,612
- Median Income
- 13.8%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
Galax City pairs top-quartile cheapest infant care nationally with a moderate income burden on families.
- Top 14%
- cheapest nationally
- Moderate
- income-burden tier
- Moderate
- family-vs-infant price gap
- #371
- 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 $6,167/yr with family care at $4,844/yr (13.8% of median income), absolute stickers are low; capacity and waitlists still bind.
Quiet-book age ladder for Galax City
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $6,167 | $4,844 |
| Toddler | $5,980 | $4,680 |
| Preschool | $5,980 | $4,680 |
| School Age | $4,940 | $5,943 |
Where Galax City ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$6,167 Among the most affordable more affordable than 86% 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
Galax City vs. every other Virginia county: income vs. infant-care cost
Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Virginia counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Virginia median.
Within Virginia, Galax City has lower income and lower infant-care cost than the typical Virginia county (its national standing, top-quartile cheapest infant care nationally, is a separate comparison against every U.S. county, not just its own state).
Full NDCP Care Ladder in Galax City
Galax City sits in the quieter-price third (QUIET), complete ladders here still show setting trade-offs even when the absolute sticker is low.
| Age | Center | Family | Center premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infant | $6,167 | $4,844 | +$1,323 (+27.3%) |
| Toddler | $5,980 | $4,680 | +$1,300 (+27.8%) |
| Preschool | $5,980 | $4,680 | +$1,300 (+27.8%) |
| School Age | $4,940 | $5,943 | $-1,003 (-16.9%) |
Across all four ages, a center path totals $23,067/year versus $20,147/year for family care ($2,920 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.25× school-age center care here. Among the 134Virginia counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Galax City ranks #5 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).
Galax City sticker reading
The standout signal in Galax City, VA is sticker price: center infant care runs $6,167/yr (QUIET · quiet-price tercile · #371 of 2,661), 36% below the U.S. average.
Mid-burden tercile: Galax City spends 13.8% of a $44,612 median on infant center care (HEAVY). Pair the QUIET sticker with the age-group table before treating any single cell as the household story.
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 2009–2022 (13 years of NDCP data).
View full data table (all care types) ▼
| Year | Ctr Infant |
|---|---|
| 2008 | N/A |
| 2009 | $5,408 |
| 2010 | $5,356 |
| 2011 | $5,304 |
| 2012 | $5,252 |
| 2013 | $5,408 |
| 2014 | $5,564 |
| 2015 | $5,720 |
| 2016 | $5,807 |
| 2017 | $5,893 |
| 2018 | $5,980 |
| 2019 | $6,067 |
| 2020 | $6,153 |
| 2021 | N/A |
| 2022 | $6,167 |
Nearest infant-price counties in Virginia
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Galax City's QUIET NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with Galax City
Infant center care here runs 13.8% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.
- Galax City spends 13.8% 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
- $6,167/yr center infant sticker (QUIET) - see how Galax City 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 Galax City families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.