County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Lauderdale County, MS

The standout signal in Lauderdale County, MS is sticker price: center infant care runs $5,965/yr (QUIET · quiet-price tercile · #297 of 2,662), 38% below the U.S. average.

Data updated 2026-07-05

$5,965
Center Infant/yr
N/A
Family Infant/yr
$45,649
Median Income
13.1%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Lauderdale County pairs top-quartile cheapest infant care nationally with a moderate income burden on families.

Top 11%
cheapest nationally
Moderate
income-burden tier
#297
of 2,662 priced counties
C
PlainChildcare Composite Score
44/100
Lauderdale County, MS

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.

Infant care burden B
Center-based infant care costs 13.1% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)
Preschool care burden C
Center-based preschool care costs 11.9% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)
School-age care burden C
Center-based school-age care costs 11.3% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)
Economic hardship F
19% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)
Price-change feed

Quiet-price tercile: center infant care is $5,965/yr (13.1% of median income), absolute stickers are low; capacity and waitlists still bind.

Quiet-book age ladder for Lauderdale County

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $5,965 N/A
Toddler $5,431 N/A
Preschool $5,431 N/A
School Age $5,164 N/A

Where Lauderdale County ranks on infant-care cost

Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices

$5,965 Among the most affordable more affordable than 89% of 2,662 US counties

This county $2,500 $32,500 every U.S. county, bucketed by value

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

Lauderdale 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.

Median household income vs Avg. annual infant care 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 30 entities by Median household income (X) and Avg. annual infant care (Y), with a crosshair dividing the plot into four quadrants. High income, high costLow income, high costHigh income, low costLow income, low cost $0$20,000$40,000$60,000$80,000$100,000 $5,500$6,000$6,500$7,000$7,500$8,000$8,500 Median household income Avg. annual infant care

Within Mississippi, Lauderdale County has higher income but lower infant-care cost than the typical Mississippi county (its national standing, top-quartile cheapest infant care nationally, is a separate comparison against every U.S. county, not just its own state).

Lauderdale County sticker reading

The standout signal in Lauderdale County, MS is sticker price: center infant care runs $5,965/yr (QUIET · quiet-price tercile · #297 of 2,662), 38% below the U.S. average.

Mid-burden tercile: Lauderdale County spends 13.1% of a $45,649 median on infant center care (HEAVY). Pair the QUIET sticker with the age-group table before treating any single cell as the household story.

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.

The NDCP has tracked center-based infant care here for 13 years, from 2010 through 2022.

+82.5% since 2010
Infant center care: $3,268 → $5,965
$5,965/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
13 years
Data available (2010–2022)
2010
$3,268
2011
$3,827
2012
$4,500
2013
$5,172
2014
$4,946
2015
$4,720
2016
$4,494
2017
$4,739
2018
$4,985
2019
$5,230
2020
$5,475
2021
$5,720
2022
$5,965
View full data table (all care types)
Year Ctr Infant
2008 N/A
2009 N/A
2010 $3,268
2011 $3,827
2012 $4,500
2013 $5,172
2014 $4,946
2015 $4,720
2016 $4,494
2017 $4,739
2018 $4,985
2019 $5,230
2020 $5,475
2021 $5,720
2022 $5,965

What to do with Lauderdale County

Infant center care here runs 13.1% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.

  • Lauderdale County spends 13.1% 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
  • $5,965/yr center infant sticker (QUIET) - see how Lauderdale 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 Lauderdale County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.