County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in New Castle County, DE
The standout signal in New Castle County, DE is the center–family premium: center infant care costs $5,128/yr more than family care (wide premium tercile) beside a $14,575 center sticker.
Data updated 2026-09-24
- $14,575
- Center Infant/yr
- $9,447
- Family Infant/yr
- $85,309
- Median Income
- 17.1%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
New Castle County pairs the 10th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a heavy income burden on families.
- 10th pct.
- affordability nationally
- Heavy
- income-burden tier
- Wide
- family-vs-infant price gap
- #2,389
- 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 $9,447/yr beside the $14,575 center sticker; toddler center care is $10,359/yr.
Steep-book age ladder for New Castle County
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $14,575 | $9,447 |
| Toddler | $10,359 | $7,990 |
| Preschool | $10,934 | $8,065 |
| School Age | $5,522 | $4,481 |
Where New Castle County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$14,575 more affordable than 10% 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
Full NDCP Care Ladder in New Castle County
New Castle 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 | $14,575 | $9,447 | +$5,128 (+54.3%) |
| Toddler | $10,359 | $7,990 | +$2,369 (+29.6%) |
| Preschool | $10,934 | $8,065 | +$2,869 (+35.6%) |
| School Age | $5,522 | $4,481 | +$1,041 (+23.2%) |
Across all four ages, a center path totals $41,390/year versus $29,983/year for family care ($11,407 more at a center). Infant center care runs 2.64× school-age center care here. Among the 3Delaware counties with a complete NDCP ladder, New Castle County ranks #3 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).
New Castle County premium reading
The standout signal in New Castle County, DE is the center–family premium: center infant care costs $5,128/yr more than family care (wide premium tercile) beside a $14,575 center sticker.
Heavy-burden tercile counties like New Castle County put infant center care at 17.1% of a $85,309 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 2008–2022 (15 years of NDCP data).
View full data table (all care types) ▼
| Year | Ctr Infant |
|---|---|
| 2008 | $10,105 |
| 2009 | $10,353 |
| 2010 | $10,601 |
| 2011 | $10,848 |
| 2012 | $10,913 |
| 2013 | $10,977 |
| 2014 | $11,335 |
| 2015 | $11,694 |
| 2016 | $12,179 |
| 2017 | $12,664 |
| 2018 | $13,149 |
| 2019 | $13,505 |
| 2020 | $13,862 |
| 2021 | $14,218 |
| 2022 | $14,575 |
Nearest infant-price counties in Delaware
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to New Castle County's STEEP NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with New Castle County
Infant center care here runs 17.1% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.
- New Castle 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
- $14,575/yr center infant sticker (STEEP) - see how New Castle 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 New Castle County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.