County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in Merrimack County, NH
The standout signal in Merrimack County, NH is sticker price: center infant care runs $14,926/yr (STEEP · steep-price tercile · #2,416 of 2,661), 56% above the U.S. average.
Data updated 2026-09-24
- $14,926
- Center Infant/yr
- $10,275
- Family Infant/yr
- $88,806
- Median Income
- 16.8%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
Merrimack County pairs the 9th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a heavy income burden on families.
- 9th pct.
- affordability nationally
- Heavy
- income-burden tier
- Wide
- family-vs-infant price gap
- #2,416
- 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.
Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $10,275/yr beside the $14,926 center sticker; toddler center care is $14,155/yr.
Steep-book age ladder for Merrimack County
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $14,926 | $10,275 |
| Toddler | $14,155 | $9,565 |
| Preschool | $12,409 | $9,565 |
| School Age | $11,095 | N/A |
Where Merrimack County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$14,926 more affordable than 9% 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
Merrimack County vs. every other New Hampshire county: income vs. infant-care cost
Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 10 New Hampshire counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the New Hampshire median.
Within New Hampshire, Merrimack County has higher income and higher infant-care cost than the typical New Hampshire county (its national standing, the 9th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally, is a separate comparison against every U.S. county, not just its own state).
Merrimack County sticker reading
The standout signal in Merrimack County, NH is sticker price: center infant care runs $14,926/yr (STEEP · steep-price tercile · #2,416 of 2,661), 56% above the U.S. average.
Heavy-burden tercile counties like Merrimack County put infant center care at 16.8% of a $88,806 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)
Center-based infant care costs over 2017–2022 (6 years of NDCP data).
View full data table (all care types) ▼
| Year | Ctr Infant |
|---|---|
| 2008 | N/A |
| 2009 | N/A |
| 2010 | N/A |
| 2011 | N/A |
| 2012 | N/A |
| 2013 | N/A |
| 2014 | N/A |
| 2015 | N/A |
| 2016 | N/A |
| 2017 | $10,873 |
| 2018 | $11,684 |
| 2019 | $12,495 |
| 2020 | $13,305 |
| 2021 | $14,115 |
| 2022 | $14,926 |
Nearest infant-price counties in New Hampshire
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Merrimack County's STEEP NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with Merrimack County
Infant center care here runs 16.8% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.
- Merrimack County spends 16.8% 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
- $14,926/yr center infant sticker (STEEP) - see how Merrimack 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 Merrimack County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.