Childcare costs in Mercer County, IL
$9,574 a year for center-based infant care - 14.3% of the local median income, against a national average of $9,592.
The going rate for center-based infant care in Mercer County, IL is $9,574/year, while family childcare is $8,233/year, per the U.S. Department of Labor's National Database of Childcare Prices (NDCP). This represents 14.3% of the median household income - exceeding the HHS 7% affordability threshold.
- $9,574
- Center Infant/yr
- $8,233
- Family Infant/yr
- $67,028
- Median Income
- 14.3%
- % of Income (Infant)
NDCP county market brief
Mercer County, IL sticker posture in this snapshot
Entity-varying stamps from DOL NDCP county medians and ACS income burden, not a clone nationwide scaffold.
- PAR NDCP sticker band
- HEAVY HHS income share
- #1,482 of 2,662 National infant rank
- $9,574 Center infant/yr
- $8,233 Family infant/yr
- Southampton County Nearest price peer
- 5/8 NDCP cells filled
- 2022 Survey vintage
Infant-price neighbourhood
Nearest ABS(center_infant) peers in IL (NDCP 2022).
Annual Childcare Costs by Age Group
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $9,574 | $8,233 |
| Toddler | N/A | N/A |
| Preschool | $8,927 | $8,237 |
| School Age | N/A | $1,950 |
Where Mercer County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$9,574 more affordable than 44% 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
What These Numbers Mean for Mercer County Families
Household affordability in Mercer County tracks against a median income of $67,028, putting infant center care at 14.3% of gross income. The HHS benchmark is 7%, meaning the typical family here exceeds the federal affordability line by 7.3 points.Mercer County families generally find care more manageable than the national picture, though waitlists at licensed providers remain the real bottleneck.
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)
The NDCP has tracked center-based infant care here for 15 years, from 2008 through 2022.
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 | $8,932 |
| 2020 | $9,146 |
| 2021 | $9,360 |
| 2022 | $9,574 |
Nearest infant-price counties in Illinois
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Mercer County's PAR NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
PlainChildcare is rendered directly from the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau National Database of Childcare Prices and Census ACS income data, no number is typed in by an editor. County childcare prices and affordability ratios are computed from NDCP and ACS records for this county. See our editorial standards & corrections policy, the methodology behind these numbers, or report a data error. Data current as of July 2026. Primary sources: DOL Women's Bureau NDCP and U.S. Census Bureau ACS.