County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in Howard County, MD
The standout signal in Howard County, MD is sticker price: center infant care runs $21,533/yr (PEAK · steep-price tercile · #2,632 of 2,661), 124% above the U.S. average.
Data updated 2026-09-24
- $21,533
- Center Infant/yr
- $14,957
- Family Infant/yr
- $140,971
- Median Income
- 15.3%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
Howard County pairs the 1st percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a moderate income burden on families.
- 1st pct.
- affordability nationally
- Moderate
- income-burden tier
- Wide
- family-vs-infant price gap
- #2,632
- 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.
Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $14,957/yr beside the $21,533 center sticker; toddler center care is $17,457/yr.
Steep-book age ladder for Howard County
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $21,533 | $14,957 |
| Toddler | $17,457 | $14,097 |
| Preschool | $17,457 | $14,097 |
| School Age | $15,739 | $13,085 |
Where Howard County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$21,533 more affordable than 1% 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
Howard 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.
Within Maryland, Howard County has higher income and higher infant-care cost than the typical Maryland county (its national standing, the 1st 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 Howard County
Howard County sits in the steep-price third of NDCP-priced counties (PEAK), read center premiums and the infant-to-school-age drop as county-specific, not a clone caption.
| Age | Center | Family | Center premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infant | $21,533 | $14,957 | +$6,576 (+44%) |
| Toddler | $17,457 | $14,097 | +$3,360 (+23.8%) |
| Preschool | $17,457 | $14,097 | +$3,360 (+23.8%) |
| School Age | $15,739 | $13,085 | +$2,654 (+20.3%) |
Across all four ages, a center path totals $72,186/year versus $56,236/year for family care ($15,950 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.37× school-age center care here. Among the 24Maryland counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Howard County ranks #23 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).
Howard County sticker reading
The standout signal in Howard County, MD is sticker price: center infant care runs $21,533/yr (PEAK · steep-price tercile · #2,632 of 2,661), 124% above the U.S. average.
Mid-burden tercile: Howard County spends 15.3% of a $140,971 median on infant center care (HEAVY). Pair the PEAK 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)
10 years of federal survey data (2013–2022) show how center-based infant care has moved.
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 | $17,165 |
| 2014 | $17,680 |
| 2015 | $18,195 |
| 2016 | $18,710 |
| 2017 | $19,225 |
| 2018 | $19,687 |
| 2019 | $20,148 |
| 2020 | $20,610 |
| 2021 | $21,071 |
| 2022 | $21,533 |
Nearest infant-price counties in Maryland
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Howard County's PEAK NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with Howard County
Infant center care here runs 15.3% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.
- Howard County spends 15.3% 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
- $21,533/yr center infant sticker (PEAK) - see how Howard 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 Howard County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.