County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Jefferson County, WI

The standout signal in Jefferson County, WI is sticker price: center infant care runs $12,272/yr (HIGH · steep-price tercile · #2,221 of 2,662), 28% above the U.S. average.

Data updated 2026-07-05

$12,272
Center Infant/yr
$9,100
Family Infant/yr
$77,018
Median Income
15.9%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Jefferson County pairs the 17th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a moderate income burden on families.

17th pct.
affordability nationally
Moderate
income-burden tier
Wide
family-vs-infant price gap
#2,221
of 2,662 priced counties
C
PlainChildcare Composite Score
47/100
Jefferson County, WI

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 D
Center-based infant care costs 15.9% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)
Preschool care burden D
Center-based preschool care costs 14.2% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)
School-age care burden D
Center-based school-age care costs 12.5% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)
Economic hardship A
5.3% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)
Price-change feed

Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $9,100/yr beside the $12,272 center sticker; toddler center care is $10,920/yr.

Steep-book age ladder for Jefferson County

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $12,272 $9,100
Toddler $10,920 $8,840
Preschool $10,920 $8,840
School Age $9,620 $8,320

Where Jefferson County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$12,272 more affordable than 16% 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

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

Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Wisconsin counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Wisconsin 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 $50,000$60,000$70,000$80,000$90,000 $8,000$10,000$12,000$14,000$16,000 Median household income Avg. annual infant care

Within Wisconsin, Jefferson County has higher income and higher infant-care cost than the typical Wisconsin county (its national standing, the 17th 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 Jefferson County

Jefferson 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 $12,272 $9,100 +$3,172 (+34.9%)
Toddler $10,920 $8,840 +$2,080 (+23.5%)
Preschool $10,920 $8,840 +$2,080 (+23.5%)
School Age $9,620 $8,320 +$1,300 (+15.6%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $43,732/year versus $35,100/year for family care ($8,632 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.28× school-age center care here. Among the 72Wisconsin counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Jefferson County ranks #52 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

Jefferson County sticker reading

The standout signal in Jefferson County, WI is sticker price: center infant care runs $12,272/yr (HIGH · steep-price tercile · #2,221 of 2,662), 28% above the U.S. average.

Mid-burden tercile: Jefferson County spends 15.9% of a $77,018 median on infant center care (HEAVY). Pair the HIGH 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.

15 years of federal survey data (2008–2022) show how center-based infant care has moved.

+27.6% since 2008
Infant center care: $9,620 → $12,272
$12,272/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
15 years
Data available (2008–2022)
2008
$9,620
2009
$9,620
2010
$9,620
2011
$8,840
2012
$10,244
2013
$10,192
2014
$10,140
2015
$10,868
2016
$10,920
2017
$10,972
2018
$11,180
2019
$11,453
2020
$11,726
2021
$11,999
2022
$12,272
View full data table (all care types)
Year Ctr Infant
2008 $9,620
2009 $9,620
2010 $9,620
2011 $8,840
2012 $10,244
2013 $10,192
2014 $10,140
2015 $10,868
2016 $10,920
2017 $10,972
2018 $11,180
2019 $11,453
2020 $11,726
2021 $11,999
2022 $12,272

What to do with Jefferson County

Infant center care here runs 15.9% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.

  • Jefferson County spends 15.9% 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
  • $12,272/yr center infant sticker (HIGH) - see how Jefferson 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 Jefferson County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

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