How much does childcare cost in Montgomery County, MD?

In Montgomery County, MD, center-based infant care costs $21,533/year. Family childcare for infants is $14,957/year. Preschool center-based care costs $17,457/year.

Is childcare affordable in Montgomery County, MD?

Center-based infant care in Montgomery County, MD costs 17.1% of the median household income ($125,583). The HHS affordability threshold is 7%. Childcare here exceeds the affordability threshold by 10.1 percentage points.

What is the cheapest childcare option in Montgomery County, MD?

In Montgomery County, MD, a family childcare home is the cheaper preschool option: $14,097/year versus $17,457/year at a center, saving $3,360/year. Family settings typically mean fewer children per caregiver.

How much does before- and after-school care cost in Montgomery County, MD?

Center-based before/after-school care for 6-12 year olds in Montgomery County, MD runs $15,739/year and $13,085/year for family childcare, covering the gaps around the school day and summer break.

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County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Montgomery County, MD

The standout signal in Montgomery County, MD is sticker price: center infant care runs $21,533/yr (PEAK · steep-price tercile · #2,633 of 2,661), 124% above the U.S. average.

Compiled by PlainChildcare

Data updated 2026-09-24

$21,533
Center Infant/yr: $14,957
Family Infant/yr: $125,583
Median Income: 17.1%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Montgomery County pairs the 1st percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a heavy income burden on families.

1st pct.
affordability nationally: Heavy
income-burden tier: Wide
family-vs-infant price gap: #2,633
of 2,661 priced counties

PlainChildcare Composite Score

46/100

Montgomery County, MD

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 D

Center-based infant care costs 17.1% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)

Preschool care burden D

Center-based preschool care costs 13.9% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)

School-age care burden D

Center-based school-age care costs 12.5% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)

Economic hardship A

4.9% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)

Price-change feed

Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $14,957/yr beside the $21,533 center sticker; toddler center care is $17,457/yr.

Steep-book age ladder for Montgomery County

Age Group	Center-Based	Family Childcare	Difference
Infant	$21,533	$14,957	+$6,576
Toddler	$17,457	$14,097	+$3,360
Preschool	$17,457	$14,097	+$3,360
School Age	$15,739	$13,085	+$2,654

Where Montgomery County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$21,533 more affordable than 1% 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

Within Maryland, Montgomery County has higher income and higher infant-care cost than the typical Maryland county (its national standing, the 1st 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 Montgomery County

Montgomery County sits in the steep-price third of NDCP-priced counties (PEAK), read center premiums and the infant-to-school-age drop as county-specific, not a clone caption.

Age	Center	Family	Center premium
Infant	$21,533	$14,957	+$6,576 (+44%)
Toddler	$17,457	$14,097	+$3,360 (+23.8%)
Preschool	$17,457	$14,097	+$3,360 (+23.8%)
School Age	$15,739	$13,085	+$2,654 (+20.3%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $72,186/year versus $56,236/year for family care ($15,950 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.37× school-age center care here. Among the 24Maryland counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Montgomery County ranks #24 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

Montgomery County sticker reading

The standout signal in Montgomery County, MD is sticker price: center infant care runs $21,533/yr (PEAK · steep-price tercile · #2,633 of 2,661), 124% above the U.S. average.

Heavy-burden tercile counties like Montgomery County put infant center care at 17.1% of a $125,583 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 2013 to 2022, across 10 years of NDCP survey data.

+25.4% since 2013

Infant center care: $17,165 → $21,533

$21,533/yr

Most recent annual cost (2022)

10 years

Data available (2013–2022)

2013

$17,165

2014

$17,680

2015

$18,195

2016

$18,710

2017

$19,225

2018

$19,687

2019

$20,148

2020

$20,610

2021

$21,071

2022

$21,533

View full data table (all care types) ▼

Year	Ctr Infant	Ctr Toddler	Ctr Preschool	Ctr School Age	Fam Infant	Fam Toddler
2008	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2009	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2010	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2011	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2012	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A	N/A
2013	$17,165	$12,848	$12,848	$11,439	$13,005	$10,259
2014	$17,680	$13,035	$13,035	$11,804	$13,000	$10,400
2015	$18,195	$13,222	$13,222	$12,169	$12,995	$10,541
2016	$18,710	$13,409	$13,409	$12,534	$12,989	$10,683
2017	$19,225	$13,596	$13,596	$12,899	$12,984	$10,825
2018	$19,687	$14,369	$14,369	$13,467	$13,379	$11,480
2019	$20,148	$15,141	$15,141	$14,035	$13,773	$12,134
2020	$20,610	$15,913	$15,913	$14,603	$14,168	$12,788
2021	$21,071	$16,685	$16,685	$15,171	$14,563	$13,443
2022	$21,533	$17,457	$17,457	$15,739	$14,957	$14,097

Nearest infant-price counties in Maryland

Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Montgomery County's PEAK NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.

Howard County, MD

Infant: $21,533 · 15.3% of income

Baltimore County, MD

Infant: $17,955 · 20.4% of income

Anne Arundel County, MD

Infant: $17,024 · 14.7% of income

Prince George's County, MD

Infant: $17,024 · 17.4% of income

Frederick County, MD

Infant: $16,897 · 14.6% of income

Harford County, MD

Infant: $16,897 · 15.9% of income

What to do with Montgomery County

Infant center care here runs 17.1% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.

Montgomery County spends 17.1% 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
$21,533/yr center infant sticker (PEAK) - see how Montgomery 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 Montgomery County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

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

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, National Database of Childcare Prices (2022); median household income: U.S. Census ACS. See methodology for how costs and affordability are computed. As-of September 2026.

Disclaimer: informational only, not professional advice. See full disclaimer.

Read our methodology - how this data is sourced, computed, and verified.

Report a data error on this page

Verify with DOL Women's Bureau NDCP → · Verify with U.S. Census ACS → · Verify with HUD →