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County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Hawaii County, HI

The standout signal in Hawaii County, HI is sticker price: center infant care runs $10,500/yr (PAR · steep-price tercile · #1,790 of 2,661), 9% above the U.S. average.

Data updated 2026-09-24

$10,500
Center Infant/yr
$8,400
Family Infant/yr
$74,238
Median Income
14.1%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Hawaii County pairs the 33rd percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a moderate income burden on families.

33rd pct.
affordability nationally
Moderate
income-burden tier
Moderate
family-vs-infant price gap
#1,790
of 2,661 priced counties
C
PlainChildcare Composite Score
55/100
Hawaii County, HI

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 C
Center-based infant care costs 14.1% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)
Preschool care burden C
Center-based preschool care costs 12.9% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)
School-age care burden A
Center-based school-age care costs 1.8% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)
Economic hardship C
10.4% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)
Price-change feed

Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $8,400/yr beside the $10,500 center sticker; toddler center care is $9,600/yr.

Steep-book age ladder for Hawaii County

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $10,500 $8,400
Toddler $9,600 $8,400
Preschool $9,600 $8,400
School Age $1,320 N/A

Where Hawaii County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$10,500 more affordable than 33% 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

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

Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 4 Hawaii counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Hawaii median.

Median household income vs Avg. annual infant care 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 4 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 $70,000$80,000$90,000$100,000$110,000 $10,000$12,000$14,000$16,000$18,000$20,000 Median household income Avg. annual infant care Honolulu CountyKalawao CountyMaui CountyHawaii County

Within Hawaii, Hawaii County has lower income and lower infant-care cost than the typical Hawaii county (its national standing, the 33rd percentile for infant-care affordability nationally, is a separate comparison against every U.S. county, not just its own state).

Hawaii County sticker reading

The standout signal in Hawaii County, HI is sticker price: center infant care runs $10,500/yr (PAR · steep-price tercile · #1,790 of 2,661), 9% above the U.S. average.

Mid-burden tercile: Hawaii County spends 14.1% of a $74,238 median on infant center care (HEAVY). Pair the PAR 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)

Here's how center-based infant care priced out from 2018 to 2022, across 5 years of NDCP survey data.

-10.3% since 2018
Infant center care: $11,700 → $10,500
$10,500/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
5 years
Data available (2018–2022)
2018
$11,700
2019
$11,400
2020
$11,100
2021
$10,800
2022
$10,500
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 N/A
2016 N/A
2017 N/A
2018 $11,700
2019 $11,400
2020 $11,100
2021 $10,800
2022 $10,500

Nearest infant-price counties in Hawaii

Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Hawaii County's PAR NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.

Maui County, HI
Infant: $15,000 · 15.7% of income
Kalawao County, HI
Infant: $16,800 · 19.1% of income
Honolulu County, HI
Infant: $19,020 · 19.1% of income

What to do with Hawaii County

Infant center care here runs 14.1% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.

  • Hawaii County spends 14.1% 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
  • $10,500/yr center infant sticker (PAR) - see how Hawaii 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 Hawaii County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

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

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, National Database of Childcare Prices (2022); median household income: U.S. Census ACS. See methodology for how costs and affordability are computed. As-of September 2026.

Disclaimer: informational only, not professional advice. See full disclaimer.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Report a data error on this page

Verify with DOL Women's Bureau NDCP →  ·  Verify with U.S. Census ACS →  ·  Verify with HUD →