County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Hunterdon County, NJ

$15,791 a year for center-based infant care - 11.8% of the local median income, against a national average of $9,592.

Center-based infant care in Hunterdon County, NJ costs $15,791/year, while family childcare is $9,900/year, per the U.S. Department of Labor's National Database of Childcare Prices (NDCP). This represents 11.8% of the median household income - exceeding the HHS 7% affordability threshold. Toddler care at a center costs $15,690/year, and preschool-age care is $15,690/year.

$15,791
Center Infant/yr
$9,900
Family Infant/yr
$133,534
Median Income
11.8%
% of Income (Infant)

NDCP county market brief

Hunterdon County, NJ sticker posture in this snapshot

Entity-varying stamps from DOL NDCP county medians and ACS income burden, not a clone nationwide scaffold.

  1. STEEP NDCP sticker band
  2. OVER7 HHS income share
  3. #2,501 of 2,662 National infant rank
  4. $15,791 Center infant/yr
  5. $9,900 Family infant/yr
  6. Gloucester County Nearest price peer
  7. 8/8 NDCP cells filled
  8. 2022 Survey vintage

Infant-price neighbourhood

Nearest ABS(center_infant) peers in NJ (NDCP 2022).

Hunterdon (this)$15,791Gloucester C…$15,789Burlington C…$15,770Sussex County$15,834Passaic County$15,994Union County$15,543

Price-band peers

Annual Childcare Costs by Age Group

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $15,791 $9,900
Toddler $15,690 $9,931
Preschool $15,690 $9,250
School Age $7,361 $7,939

Where Hunterdon County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$15,791 more affordable than 6% of 2,662 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

Full NDCP Care Ladder in Hunterdon County

Hunterdon County fills every age×setting NDCP cell in the STEEP sticker band - center premiums and the infant-to-school-age drop are readable without a second national strip.

Age Center Family Center premium
Infant $15,791 $9,900 +$5,891 (+59.5%)
Toddler $15,690 $9,931 +$5,759 (+58%)
Preschool $15,690 $9,250 +$6,440 (+69.6%)
School Age $7,361 $7,939 $-578 (-7.3%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $54,532/year versus $37,020/year for family care ($17,512 more at a center). Infant center care runs 2.15× school-age center care here. Among the 21New Jersey counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Hunterdon County ranks #12 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

What These Numbers Mean for Hunterdon County Families

Hunterdon County's median household income of $133,534 sets the bar for what counts as affordable care here, putting infant center care at 11.8% of gross income. Against the federal 7% affordability benchmark, the typical family here exceeds the federal affordability line by 4.8 points.Hunterdon County families generally find care more manageable than the national picture, though waitlists at licensed providers remain the real bottleneck.

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 15 years, from 2008 through 2022.

+38.4% since 2008
Infant center care: $11,411 → $15,791
$15,791/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
15 years
Data available (2008–2022)
2008
$11,411
2009
$11,411
2010
$11,411
2011
$11,480
2012
$11,549
2013
$12,614
2014
$13,679
2015
$14,744
2016
$15,808
2017
$15,805
2018
$15,802
2019
$15,800
2020
$15,797
2021
$15,794
2022
$15,791
View full data table (all care types)
Year Ctr Infant
2008 $11,411
2009 $11,411
2010 $11,411
2011 $11,480
2012 $11,549
2013 $12,614
2014 $13,679
2015 $14,744
2016 $15,808
2017 $15,805
2018 $15,802
2019 $15,800
2020 $15,797
2021 $15,794
2022 $15,791

PlainChildcare is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau National Database of Childcare Prices and Census ACS income data, no number is typed in by an editor. County childcare prices and affordability ratios are computed from NDCP and ACS records for this county. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of July 2026. Primary sources: DOL Women's Bureau NDCP and U.S. Census Bureau ACS.