County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in Lafayette County, MS
The standout signal in Lafayette County, MS is income burden: infant center care takes 9.6% of median ACS income (OVER7 · light-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 40% below the national average.
Data updated 2026-07-05
- $5,721
- Center Infant/yr
- N/A
- Family Infant/yr
- $59,748
- Median Income
- 9.6%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
Lafayette County pairs top-10% cheapest infant care nationally with a light income burden on families.
- Top 8%
- cheapest nationally
- Light
- income-burden tier
- #227
- 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.
Quiet-price tercile: center infant care is $5,721/yr (9.6% of median income), absolute stickers are low; capacity and waitlists still bind.
Quiet-book age ladder for Lafayette County
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $5,721 | N/A |
| Toddler | $5,211 | N/A |
| Preschool | $5,211 | N/A |
| School Age | $4,957 | N/A |
Where Lafayette County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$5,721 Among the most affordable more affordable than 91% 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
Lafayette County vs. every other Mississippi county: income vs. infant-care cost
Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Mississippi counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Mississippi median.
Within Mississippi, Lafayette County has higher income but lower infant-care cost than the typical Mississippi county (its national standing, top-10% cheapest infant care nationally, is a separate comparison against every U.S. county, not just its own state).
Lafayette County burden reading
The standout signal in Lafayette County, MS is income burden: infant center care takes 9.6% of median ACS income (OVER7 · light-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 40% below the national average.
Light-burden tercile reading: Lafayette County keeps infant center care at 9.6% of a $59,748 median (OVER7). Sticker still matters (QUIET), but income share is not the binding constraint versus waitlists and licensed capacity.
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 2010–2022 (13 years of NDCP data).
View full data table (all care types) ▼
| Year | Ctr Infant |
|---|---|
| 2008 | N/A |
| 2009 | N/A |
| 2010 | $4,379 |
| 2011 | $5,028 |
| 2012 | $5,809 |
| 2013 | $6,590 |
| 2014 | $6,298 |
| 2015 | $6,006 |
| 2016 | $5,714 |
| 2017 | $5,715 |
| 2018 | $5,716 |
| 2019 | $5,717 |
| 2020 | $5,719 |
| 2021 | $5,720 |
| 2022 | $5,721 |
Nearest infant-price counties in Mississippi
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Lafayette County's QUIET NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with Lafayette County
Infant center care here runs 9.6% of the local median income (OVER7), check where your own household lands.
- Lafayette County spends 9.6% 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
- $5,721/yr center infant sticker (QUIET) - see how Lafayette 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 Lafayette County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.