County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in Kings County, CA
The standout signal in Kings County, CA is sticker price: center infant care runs $13,547/yr (STEEP · steep-price tercile · #2,353 of 2,662), 41% above the U.S. average.
Data updated 2026-07-05
- $13,547
- Center Infant/yr
- $11,334
- Family Infant/yr
- $68,540
- Median Income
- 19.8%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
Kings County pairs the 12th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a heavy income burden on families.
- 12th pct.
- affordability nationally
- Heavy
- income-burden tier
- Moderate
- family-vs-infant price gap
- #2,353
- 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.
Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $11,334/yr beside the $13,547 center sticker; toddler center care is $9,584/yr.
Steep-book age ladder for Kings County
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $13,547 | $11,334 |
| Toddler | $9,584 | $10,155 |
| Preschool | $7,936 | $9,430 |
| School Age | $4,462 | $9,058 |
Where Kings County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$13,547 more affordable than 12% 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
Kings County vs. every other California county: income vs. infant-care cost
Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 California counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the California median.
Within California, Kings County has lower income and lower infant-care cost than the typical California county (its national standing, the 12th 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 Kings County
Kings County sits in the steep-price third of NDCP-priced counties (STEEP), read center premiums and the infant-to-school-age drop as county-specific, not a clone caption.
| Age | Center | Family | Center premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infant | $13,547 | $11,334 | +$2,213 (+19.5%) |
| Toddler | $9,584 | $10,155 | $-571 (-5.6%) |
| Preschool | $7,936 | $9,430 | $-1,494 (-15.8%) |
| School Age | $4,462 | $9,058 | $-4,596 (-50.7%) |
Across all four ages, a center path totals $35,529/year versus $39,977/year for family care ($4,448 less at a center). Infant center care runs 3.04× school-age center care here. Among the 58California counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Kings County ranks #17 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).
Kings County sticker reading
The standout signal in Kings County, CA is sticker price: center infant care runs $13,547/yr (STEEP · steep-price tercile · #2,353 of 2,662), 41% above the U.S. average.
Heavy-burden tercile counties like Kings County put infant center care at 19.8% of a $68,540 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 2008–2022 (14 years of NDCP data).
View full data table (all care types) ▼
| Year | Ctr Infant |
|---|---|
| 2008 | $12,178 |
| 2009 | $13,032 |
| 2010 | $12,237 |
| 2011 | $11,442 |
| 2012 | $10,646 |
| 2013 | $11,688 |
| 2014 | $12,729 |
| 2015 | $12,906 |
| 2016 | $13,082 |
| 2017 | $12,047 |
| 2018 | $11,011 |
| 2019 | $9,976 |
| 2020 | $8,940 |
| 2021 | N/A |
| 2022 | $13,547 |
Nearest infant-price counties in California
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Kings County's STEEP NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with Kings County
Infant center care here runs 19.8% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.
- Kings County spends 19.8% 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
- $13,547/yr center infant sticker (STEEP) - see how Kings 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 Kings County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.