County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, AK
The standout signal in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, AK is the center–family premium: center infant care costs $8,884/yr more than family care (wide premium tercile) beside a $16,223 center sticker.
Data updated 2026-07-05
- $16,223
- Center Infant/yr
- $7,339
- Family Infant/yr
- $82,763
- Median Income
- 19.6%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
Ketchikan Gateway Borough pairs the 6th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a heavy income burden on families.
- 6th pct.
- affordability nationally
- Heavy
- income-burden tier
- Wide
- family-vs-infant price gap
- #2,516
- of 2,662 priced counties
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.
National sticker context: $9,592 average.
Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $7,339/yr beside the $16,223 center sticker; toddler center care is $13,880/yr.
Steep-book age ladder for Ketchikan Gateway Borough
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $16,223 | $7,339 |
| Toddler | $13,880 | $7,666 |
| Preschool | $12,896 | $8,006 |
| School Age | $6,540 | N/A |
Where Ketchikan Gateway Borough ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$16,223 more affordable than 5% of 2,662 US counties
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
Ketchikan Gateway Borough vs. every other Alaska county: income vs. infant-care cost
Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 8 Alaska counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Alaska median.
Within Alaska, Ketchikan Gateway Borough has lower income but higher infant-care cost than the typical Alaska county (its national standing, the 6th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally, is a separate comparison against every U.S. county, not just its own state).
Ketchikan Gateway Borough premium reading
The standout signal in Ketchikan Gateway Borough, AK is the center–family premium: center infant care costs $8,884/yr more than family care (wide premium tercile) beside a $16,223 center sticker.
Heavy-burden tercile counties like Ketchikan Gateway Borough put infant center care at 19.6% of a $82,763 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)
9 years of federal survey data (2014–2022) show how center-based infant care has moved.
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 | $8,531 |
| 2015 | $9,492 |
| 2016 | $10,454 |
| 2017 | $11,415 |
| 2018 | $12,377 |
| 2019 | $13,339 |
| 2020 | $14,300 |
| 2021 | $15,261 |
| 2022 | $16,223 |
Nearest infant-price counties in Alaska
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Ketchikan Gateway Borough's STEEP NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with Ketchikan Gateway Borough
Infant center care here runs 19.6% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.
- Ketchikan Gateway Borough spends 19.6% 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
- $16,223/yr center infant sticker (STEEP) - see how Ketchikan Gateway Borough 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 Ketchikan Gateway Borough families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.