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County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Johnson County, IA

$9,183 a year for center-based infant care - 12.6% of the local median income, against a national average of $9,592.

The going rate for center-based infant care in Johnson County, IA is $9,183/year, while family childcare is $6,197/year, per the U.S. Department of Labor's National Database of Childcare Prices (NDCP). This represents 12.6% of the median household income - exceeding the HHS 7% affordability threshold. Toddler care at a center costs $7,913/year, and preschool-age care is $7,913/year.

$9,183
Center Infant/yr
$6,197
Family Infant/yr
$72,977
Median Income
12.6%
% of Income (Infant)

NDCP county market brief

Johnson County, IA sticker posture in this snapshot

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

  1. PAR NDCP sticker band
  2. HEAVY HHS income share
  3. #1,383 of 2,662 National infant rank
  4. $9,183 Center infant/yr
  5. $6,197 Family infant/yr
  6. Berkeley County Nearest price peer
  7. 8/8 NDCP cells filled
  8. 2022 Survey vintage

Infant-price neighbourhood

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

Johnson (this)$9,183Polk County$9,220Story County$8,858Warren County$8,804Madison County$8,763Pottawattami…$8,758

Price-band peers

Annual Childcare Costs by Age Group

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $9,183 $6,197
Toddler $7,913 $6,095
Preschool $7,913 $6,095
School Age $6,330 $5,892

Where Johnson County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$9,183 more affordable than 48% 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 Johnson County

Complete NDCP ladder under a HEAVY income burden (12.6% of ACS median) - compare center premiums before treating sticker alone as the story.

Age Center Family Center premium
Infant $9,183 $6,197 +$2,986 (+48.2%)
Toddler $7,913 $6,095 +$1,818 (+29.8%)
Preschool $7,913 $6,095 +$1,818 (+29.8%)
School Age $6,330 $5,892 +$438 (+7.4%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $31,339/year versus $24,279/year for family care ($7,060 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.45× school-age center care here. Among the 99Iowa counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Johnson County ranks #97 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

What These Numbers Mean for Johnson County Families

Johnson County's median household income of $72,977 sets the bar for what counts as affordable care here, putting infant center care at 12.6% of gross income. HHS draws the affordability line at 7% of income, and the typical local family exceeds the federal affordability line by 5.6 points.Johnson 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.

7 years of federal survey data (2016–2022) show how center-based infant care has moved.

-25.7% since 2016
Infant center care: $12,367 → $9,183
$9,183/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
7 years
Data available (2016–2022)
2016
$12,367
2017
$11,836
2018
$11,305
2019
$10,775
2020
$10,244
2021
$9,714
2022
$9,183
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 $12,367
2017 $11,836
2018 $11,305
2019 $10,775
2020 $10,244
2021 $9,714
2022 $9,183

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.