County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Nassau County, NY

The standout signal in Nassau County, NY is sticker price: center infant care runs $16,900/yr (STEEP · steep-price tercile · #2,533 of 2,662), 76% above the U.S. average.

Data updated 2026-07-05

$16,900
Center Infant/yr
$15,600
Family Infant/yr
$137,709
Median Income
12.3%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Nassau County pairs the 5th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a light income burden on families.

5th pct.
affordability nationally
Light
income-burden tier
Moderate
family-vs-infant price gap
#2,533
of 2,662 priced counties
B
PlainChildcare Composite Score
73/100
Nassau County, NY

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 12.3% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)
Preschool care burden B
Center-based preschool care costs 11.1% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)
School-age care burden C
Center-based school-age care costs 9.4% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)
Economic hardship A
3.6% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)
Price-change feed

Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $15,600/yr beside the $16,900 center sticker; toddler center care is $15,600/yr.

Steep-book age ladder for Nassau County

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $16,900 $15,600
Toddler $15,600 $15,080
Preschool $15,236 $14,300
School Age $13,000 $13,000

Where Nassau County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$16,900 more affordable than 5% 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

Nassau County vs. every other New York county: income vs. infant-care cost

Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 New York counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the New York 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 $40,000$60,000$80,000$100,000$120,000$140,000$160,000 $12,000$13,000$14,000$15,000$16,000$17,000$18,000 Median household income Avg. annual infant care

Within New York, Nassau County has higher income and higher infant-care cost than the typical New York county (its national standing, the 5th 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 Nassau County

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

Age Center Family Center premium
Infant $16,900 $15,600 +$1,300 (+8.3%)
Toddler $15,600 $15,080 +$520 (+3.4%)
Preschool $15,236 $14,300 +$936 (+6.5%)
School Age $13,000 $13,000 +$0 (+0%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $60,736/year versus $57,980/year for family care ($2,756 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.3× school-age center care here. Among the 62New York counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Nassau County ranks #58 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

Nassau County sticker reading

The standout signal in Nassau County, NY is sticker price: center infant care runs $16,900/yr (STEEP · steep-price tercile · #2,533 of 2,662), 76% above the U.S. average.

Light-burden tercile reading: Nassau County keeps infant center care at 12.3% of a $137,709 median (HEAVY). Sticker still matters (STEEP), but income share is not the binding constraint versus waitlists and licensed capacity.

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 6 years, from 2017 through 2022.

-12.7% since 2017
Infant center care: $19,348 → $16,900
$16,900/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
6 years
Data available (2017–2022)
2017
$19,348
2018
$18,618
2019
$17,888
2020
$17,559
2021
$17,229
2022
$16,900
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 $19,348
2018 $18,618
2019 $17,888
2020 $17,559
2021 $17,229
2022 $16,900

What to do with Nassau County

Infant center care here runs 12.3% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.

  • Nassau County spends 12.3% 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
  • $16,900/yr center infant sticker (STEEP) - see how Nassau 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 Nassau County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

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