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County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Henry County, IA

The standout signal in Henry County, IA is income burden: infant center care takes 12.9% of median ACS income (HEAVY · light-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 16% below the national average.

Data updated 2026-09-24

$8,016
Center Infant/yr
$5,410
Family Infant/yr
$62,365
Median Income
12.9%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Henry County pairs below-national-median infant care costs with a light income burden on families.

Top 40%
cheapest nationally
Light
income-burden tier
Moderate
family-vs-infant price gap
#1,066
of 2,661 priced counties
B
PlainChildcare Composite Score
67/100
Henry County, IA

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 B
Center-based infant care costs 12.9% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)
Preschool care burden B
Center-based preschool care costs 11.1% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)
School-age care burden B
Center-based school-age care costs 8.9% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)
Economic hardship B
7.5% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)
Price-change feed

National sticker context: $9,593 average.

Center-based infant care in Henry County, IA costs $8,016/year, while family childcare is $5,410/year, per the U.S. Department of Labor's National Database of Childcare Prices (NDCP). This represents 12.9% of the median household income, exceeding the HHS 7% affordability threshold. Toddler care at a center costs $6,907/year.

Annual childcare costs by age in Henry County

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $8,016 $5,410
Toddler $6,907 $5,321
Preschool $6,907 $5,321
School Age $5,526 $5,143

Where Henry County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$8,016 Among the most affordable more affordable than 60% 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

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

Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Iowa counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Iowa 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$120,000 $7,500$8,000$8,500$9,000$9,500$10,000 Median household income Avg. annual infant care

Within Iowa, Henry County has lower income and lower infant-care cost than the typical Iowa county (its national standing, below-national-median infant care costs, is a separate comparison against every U.S. county, not just its own state).

Full NDCP Care Ladder in Henry County

Every age×setting NDCP cell is reported here (MID / HEAVY · mid-price), center premium and age-step are county-specific.

Age Center Family Center premium
Infant $8,016 $5,410 +$2,606 (+48.2%)
Toddler $6,907 $5,321 +$1,586 (+29.8%)
Preschool $6,907 $5,321 +$1,586 (+29.8%)
School Age $5,526 $5,143 +$383 (+7.4%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $27,356/year versus $21,195/year for family care ($6,161 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.45× school-age center care here. Among the 99Iowa counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Henry County ranks #22 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

Henry County burden reading

The standout signal in Henry County, IA is income burden: infant center care takes 12.9% of median ACS income (HEAVY · light-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 16% below the national average.

Light-burden tercile reading: Henry County keeps infant center care at 12.9% of a $62,365 median (HEAVY). Sticker still matters (MID), but income share is not the binding constraint versus waitlists and licensed capacity.

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.

Here's how center-based infant care priced out from 2016 to 2022, across 7 years of NDCP survey data.

-0.6% since 2016
Infant center care: $8,066 → $8,016
$8,016/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
7 years
Data available (2016–2022)
2016
$8,066
2017
$8,058
2018
$8,050
2019
$8,041
2020
$8,032
2021
$8,024
2022
$8,016
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 $8,066
2017 $8,058
2018 $8,050
2019 $8,041
2020 $8,032
2021 $8,024
2022 $8,016

What to do with Henry County

Infant center care here runs 12.9% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.

  • Henry County spends 12.9% 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
  • $8,016/yr center infant sticker (MID) - see how Henry 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 Henry County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

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