County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Judith Basin County, MT

The standout signal in Judith Basin County, MT is income burden: infant center care takes 18.5% of median ACS income (HEAVY · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 13% above the national average.

Data updated 2026-07-05

$10,853
Center Infant/yr
$8,539
Family Infant/yr
$58,750
Median Income
18.5%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Judith Basin County pairs the 29th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a heavy income burden on families.

29th pct.
affordability nationally
Heavy
income-burden tier
Moderate
family-vs-infant price gap
#1,879
of 2,662 priced counties
D
PlainChildcare Composite Score
22/100
Judith Basin County, MT

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 18.5% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)
Preschool care burden F
Center-based preschool care costs 16.5% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)
School-age care burden F
Center-based school-age care costs 16.5% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)
Economic hardship D
11.3% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)
Price-change feed

National sticker context: $9,592 average.

Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $8,539/yr beside the $10,853 center sticker; toddler center care is $11,294/yr.

Steep-book age ladder for Judith Basin County

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $10,853 $8,539
Toddler $11,294 $8,716
Preschool $9,696 $8,716
School Age $9,696 $8,077

Where Judith Basin County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$10,853 more affordable than 29% 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

Judith Basin County vs. every other Montana county: income vs. infant-care cost

Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Montana counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Montana 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 $30,000$40,000$50,000$60,000$70,000$80,000$90,000 $10,000$10,500$11,000$11,500$12,000$12,500$13,000 Median household income Avg. annual infant care

Within Montana, Judith Basin County has lower income and lower infant-care cost than the typical Montana county (its national standing, the 29th 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 Judith Basin County

Judith Basin 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 $10,853 $8,539 +$2,314 (+27.1%)
Toddler $11,294 $8,716 +$2,578 (+29.6%)
Preschool $9,696 $8,716 +$980 (+11.2%)
School Age $9,696 $8,077 +$1,619 (+20%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $41,539/year versus $34,048/year for family care ($7,491 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.12× school-age center care here. Among the 56Montana counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Judith Basin County ranks #6 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

Judith Basin County burden reading

The standout signal in Judith Basin County, MT is income burden: infant center care takes 18.5% of median ACS income (HEAVY · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 13% above the national average.

Heavy-burden tercile counties like Judith Basin County put infant center care at 18.5% of a $58,750 ACS median, well above the HHS 7% line and already in the steep sticker third of the national book. Treat subsidy and family-setting trade-offs as first-order, not footnotes.

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 8 years, from 2015 through 2022.

+69.0% since 2015
Infant center care: $6,420 → $10,853
$10,853/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
8 years
Data available (2015–2022)
2015
$6,420
2016
$7,054
2017
$7,687
2018
$8,321
2019
$8,953
2020
$9,587
2021
$10,220
2022
$10,853
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 $6,420
2016 $7,054
2017 $7,687
2018 $8,321
2019 $8,953
2020 $9,587
2021 $10,220
2022 $10,853

What to do with Judith Basin County

Infant center care here runs 18.5% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.

  • Judith Basin County spends 18.5% 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
  • $10,853/yr center infant sticker (HIGH) - see how Judith Basin 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 Judith Basin County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

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