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County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Kalawao County, HI

The standout signal in Kalawao County, HI is sticker price: center infant care runs $16,800/yr (STEEP · steep-price tercile · #2,526 of 2,661), 75% above the U.S. average.

Data updated 2026-09-24

$16,800
Center Infant/yr
$9,120
Family Infant/yr
$87,813
Median Income
19.1%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Kalawao County pairs the 5th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a heavy income burden on families.

5th pct.
affordability nationally
Heavy
income-burden tier
Wide
family-vs-infant price gap
#2,526
of 2,661 priced counties
C
PlainChildcare Composite Score
58/100
Kalawao County, HI

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 F
Center-based infant care costs 19.1% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)
Preschool care burden B
Center-based preschool care costs 11.6% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)
School-age care burden A
Center-based school-age care costs 2.6% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)
Economic hardship A
0% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)
Price-change feed

Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $9,120/yr beside the $16,800 center sticker; toddler center care is $10,200/yr.

Steep-book age ladder for Kalawao County

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $16,800 $9,120
Toddler $10,200 $9,000
Preschool $10,200 $9,000
School Age $2,280 N/A

Where Kalawao County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$16,800 more affordable than 5% of 2,661 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

Kalawao County vs. every other Hawaii county: income vs. infant-care cost

Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 4 Hawaii counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Hawaii median.

Median household income vs Avg. annual infant care 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 4 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 $70,000$80,000$90,000$100,000$110,000 $10,000$12,000$14,000$16,000$18,000$20,000 Median household income Avg. annual infant care Hawaii CountyHonolulu CountyMaui CountyKalawao County

Within Hawaii, Kalawao County has lower income but higher infant-care cost than the typical Hawaii county (its national standing, the 5th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally, is a separate comparison against every U.S. county, not just its own state).

Kalawao County sticker reading

The standout signal in Kalawao County, HI is sticker price: center infant care runs $16,800/yr (STEEP · steep-price tercile · #2,526 of 2,661), 75% above the U.S. average.

Heavy-burden tercile counties like Kalawao County put infant center care at 19.1% of a $87,813 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.

Historical Price Trends (2008–2022)

Center-based infant care costs over 2018–2022 (5 years of NDCP data).

+15.4% since 2018
Infant center care: $14,560 → $16,800
$16,800/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
5 years
Data available (2018–2022)
2018
$14,560
2019
$15,120
2020
$15,680
2021
$16,240
2022
$16,800
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 N/A
2017 N/A
2018 $14,560
2019 $15,120
2020 $15,680
2021 $16,240
2022 $16,800

Nearest infant-price counties in Hawaii

Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Kalawao County's STEEP NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.

Maui County, HI
Infant: $15,000 · 15.7% of income
Honolulu County, HI
Infant: $19,020 · 19.1% of income
Hawaii County, HI
Infant: $10,500 · 14.1% of income

What to do with Kalawao County

Infant center care here runs 19.1% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.

  • Kalawao County spends 19.1% 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
  • $16,800/yr center infant sticker (STEEP) - see how Kalawao 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 Kalawao County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

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

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, National Database of Childcare Prices (2022); median household income: U.S. Census ACS. See methodology for how costs and affordability are computed. As-of September 2026.

Disclaimer: informational only, not professional advice. See full disclaimer.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Report a data error on this page

Verify with DOL Women's Bureau NDCP →  ·  Verify with U.S. Census ACS →  ·  Verify with HUD →