County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in Knox County, IL
The standout signal in Knox County, IL is income burden: infant center care takes 32.2% of median ACS income (DESERT · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 68% above the national average.
Data updated 2026-07-05
- $16,161
- Center Infant/yr
- $8,233
- Family Infant/yr
- $50,263
- Median Income
- 32.2%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
Knox County 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
- #2,513
- 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 $8,233/yr beside the $16,161 center sticker; toddler center care is $13,087/yr.
Steep-book age ladder for Knox County
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $16,161 | $8,233 |
| Toddler | $13,087 | $8,233 |
| Preschool | $13,433 | $7,640 |
| School Age | N/A | $3,252 |
Where Knox County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$16,161 more affordable than 6% 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
Knox County vs. every other Illinois county: income vs. infant-care cost
Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Illinois counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Illinois median.
Within Illinois, Knox County has lower income but higher infant-care cost than the typical Illinois 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).
Knox County burden reading
The standout signal in Knox County, IL is income burden: infant center care takes 32.2% of median ACS income (DESERT · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 68% above the national average.
Heavy-burden tercile counties like Knox County put infant center care at 32.2% of a $50,263 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)
Here's how center-based infant care priced out from 2008 to 2022, across 15 years of NDCP survey data.
View full data table (all care types) ▼
| Year | Ctr Infant |
|---|---|
| 2008 | $7,054 |
| 2009 | $7,371 |
| 2010 | $7,688 |
| 2011 | $7,874 |
| 2012 | $8,060 |
| 2013 | $8,320 |
| 2014 | $8,580 |
| 2015 | $8,649 |
| 2016 | $8,718 |
| 2017 | $8,718 |
| 2018 | $8,718 |
| 2019 | $10,578 |
| 2020 | $12,439 |
| 2021 | $14,300 |
| 2022 | $16,161 |
Nearest infant-price counties in Illinois
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Knox County's STEEP NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with Knox County
Infant center care here runs 32.2% of the local median income (DESERT), check where your own household lands.
- Knox County spends 32.2% 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
- $16,161/yr center infant sticker (STEEP) - see how Knox 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 Knox County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.