County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in Kitsap County, WA
The standout signal in Kitsap County, WA is sticker price: center infant care runs $17,034/yr (STEEP · steep-price tercile · #2,542 of 2,662), 78% above the U.S. average.
Data updated 2026-07-05
- $17,034
- Center Infant/yr
- $13,200
- Family Infant/yr
- $93,675
- Median Income
- 18.2%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
Kitsap 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
- #2,542
- 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 $13,200/yr beside the $17,034 center sticker; toddler center care is $12,951/yr.
Steep-book age ladder for Kitsap County
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $17,034 | $13,200 |
| Toddler | $12,951 | $10,672 |
| Preschool | $12,951 | $10,872 |
| School Age | $19,472 | $10,160 |
Where Kitsap County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$17,034 more affordable than 4% 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
Kitsap County vs. every other Washington county: income vs. infant-care cost
Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Washington counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Washington median.
Within Washington, Kitsap County has higher income and higher infant-care cost than the typical Washington 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).
Full NDCP Care Ladder in Kitsap County
Kitsap 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 | $17,034 | $13,200 | +$3,834 (+29%) |
| Toddler | $12,951 | $10,672 | +$2,279 (+21.4%) |
| Preschool | $12,951 | $10,872 | +$2,079 (+19.1%) |
| School Age | $19,472 | $10,160 | +$9,312 (+91.7%) |
Across all four ages, a center path totals $62,408/year versus $44,904/year for family care ($17,504 more at a center). Infant center care runs 0.87× school-age center care here. Among the 39Washington counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Kitsap County ranks #20 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).
Kitsap County sticker reading
The standout signal in Kitsap County, WA is sticker price: center infant care runs $17,034/yr (STEEP · steep-price tercile · #2,542 of 2,662), 78% above the U.S. average.
Heavy-burden tercile counties like Kitsap County put infant center care at 18.2% of a $93,675 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)
15 years of federal survey data (2008–2022) show how center-based infant care has moved.
View full data table (all care types) ▼
| Year | Ctr Infant |
|---|---|
| 2008 | $10,344 |
| 2009 | $11,532 |
| 2010 | $12,720 |
| 2011 | $12,534 |
| 2012 | $12,348 |
| 2013 | $15,786 |
| 2014 | $19,224 |
| 2015 | $17,746 |
| 2016 | $16,269 |
| 2017 | $14,791 |
| 2018 | $13,313 |
| 2019 | $14,243 |
| 2020 | $15,174 |
| 2021 | $16,104 |
| 2022 | $17,034 |
Nearest infant-price counties in Washington
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Kitsap County's STEEP NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with Kitsap County
Infant center care here runs 18.2% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.
- Kitsap County spends 18.2% 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
- $17,034/yr center infant sticker (STEEP) - see how Kitsap 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 Kitsap County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.