County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in Martin County, MN
The standout signal in Martin County, MN is the center–family premium: center infant care costs $6,587/yr more than family care (wide premium tercile) beside a $13,260 center sticker.
Data updated 2026-09-24
- $13,260
- Center Infant/yr
- $6,673
- Family Infant/yr
- $61,674
- Median Income
- 21.5%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
Martin 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
- Wide
- family-vs-infant price gap
- #2,343
- of 2,661 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: $9,593 average.
Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $6,673/yr beside the $13,260 center sticker; toddler center care is $11,839/yr.
Steep-book age ladder for Martin County
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $13,260 | $6,673 |
| Toddler | $11,839 | $6,760 |
| Preschool | $11,111 | $6,760 |
| School Age | $8,892 | $6,240 |
Where Martin County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$13,260 more affordable than 12% of 2,661 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
Martin County vs. every other Minnesota county: income vs. infant-care cost
Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Minnesota counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Minnesota median.
Within Minnesota, Martin County has lower income but higher infant-care cost than the typical Minnesota 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 Martin County
Martin County sits in the steep-price third of NDCP-priced counties (HIGH), read center premiums and the infant-to-school-age drop as county-specific, not a clone caption.
| Age | Center | Family | Center premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infant | $13,260 | $6,673 | +$6,587 (+98.7%) |
| Toddler | $11,839 | $6,760 | +$5,079 (+75.1%) |
| Preschool | $11,111 | $6,760 | +$4,351 (+64.4%) |
| School Age | $8,892 | $6,240 | +$2,652 (+42.5%) |
Across all four ages, a center path totals $45,102/year versus $26,433/year for family care ($18,669 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.49× school-age center care here. Among the 87Minnesota counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Martin County ranks #78 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).
Martin County premium reading
The standout signal in Martin County, MN is the center–family premium: center infant care costs $6,587/yr more than family care (wide premium tercile) beside a $13,260 center sticker.
Heavy-burden tercile counties like Martin County put infant center care at 21.5% of a $61,674 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 | $10,036 |
| 2009 | $8,580 |
| 2010 | $7,124 |
| 2011 | $8,112 |
| 2012 | $7,540 |
| 2013 | $7,150 |
| 2014 | $6,760 |
| 2015 | $8,320 |
| 2016 | $9,880 |
| 2017 | $9,490 |
| 2018 | $9,100 |
| 2019 | $10,140 |
| 2020 | $11,180 |
| 2021 | $12,220 |
| 2022 | $13,260 |
Nearest infant-price counties in Minnesota
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Martin County's HIGH NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with Martin County
Infant center care here runs 21.5% of the local median income (DESERT), check where your own household lands.
- Martin County spends 21.5% 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
- $13,260/yr center infant sticker (HIGH) - see how Martin 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 Martin County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.