County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Garrett County, MD

The standout signal in Garrett County, MD is the center–family premium: center infant care costs $5,015/yr more than family care (wide premium tercile) beside a $12,838 center sticker.

Data updated 2026-09-24

$12,838
Center Infant/yr
$7,823
Family Infant/yr
$64,447
Median Income
19.9%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Garrett 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
Wide
family-vs-infant price gap
#2,276
of 2,661 priced counties
D
PlainChildcare Composite Score
37/100
Garrett County, MD

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 19.9% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)
Preschool care burden D
Center-based preschool care costs 13.5% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)
School-age care burden D
Center-based school-age care costs 12.9% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)
Economic hardship B
7.3% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)
Price-change feed

National sticker context: $9,593 average.

Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $7,823/yr beside the $12,838 center sticker; toddler center care is $8,676/yr.

Steep-book age ladder for Garrett County

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $12,838 $7,823
Toddler $8,676 $7,103
Preschool $8,676 $7,103
School Age $8,308 $6,354

Where Garrett County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$12,838 more affordable than 14% of 2,661 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

Garrett County vs. every other Maryland county: income vs. infant-care cost

Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 24 Maryland counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Maryland median.

Median household income vs Avg. annual infant care 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 24 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$120,000$140,000$160,000 $10,000$15,000$20,000$25,000 Median household income Avg. annual infant care

Within Maryland, Garrett County has lower income and lower infant-care cost than the typical Maryland 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 Garrett County

Garrett 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 $12,838 $7,823 +$5,015 (+64.1%)
Toddler $8,676 $7,103 +$1,573 (+22.1%)
Preschool $8,676 $7,103 +$1,573 (+22.1%)
School Age $8,308 $6,354 +$1,954 (+30.8%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $38,498/year versus $28,383/year for family care ($10,115 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.55× school-age center care here. Among the 24Maryland counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Garrett County ranks #8 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

Garrett County premium reading

The standout signal in Garrett County, MD is the center–family premium: center infant care costs $5,015/yr more than family care (wide premium tercile) beside a $12,838 center sticker.

Heavy-burden tercile counties like Garrett County put infant center care at 19.9% of a $64,447 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.

The NDCP has tracked center-based infant care here for 10 years, from 2013 through 2022.

+43.1% since 2013
Infant center care: $8,972 → $12,838
$12,838/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
10 years
Data available (2013–2022)
2013
$8,972
2014
$8,580
2015
$8,188
2016
$7,796
2017
$7,404
2018
$8,491
2019
$9,578
2020
$10,664
2021
$11,751
2022
$12,838
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 $8,972
2014 $8,580
2015 $8,188
2016 $7,796
2017 $7,404
2018 $8,491
2019 $9,578
2020 $10,664
2021 $11,751
2022 $12,838

What to do with Garrett County

Infant center care here runs 19.9% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.

  • Garrett County spends 19.9% 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
  • $12,838/yr center infant sticker (HIGH) - see how Garrett 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 Garrett County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

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