County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Nowata County, OK

The standout signal in Nowata County, OK is income burden: infant center care takes 20.4% of median ACS income (DESERT · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 9% above the national average.

Data updated 2026-09-24

$10,412
Center Infant/yr
$7,561
Family Infant/yr
$50,960
Median Income
20.4%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Nowata County pairs the 33rd percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a heavy income burden on families.

33rd pct.
affordability nationally
Heavy
income-burden tier
Wide
family-vs-infant price gap
#1,778
of 2,661 priced counties
D
PlainChildcare Composite Score
23/100
Nowata County, OK

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 F
Center-based infant care costs 20.4% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)
Preschool care burden F
Center-based preschool care costs 17.7% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)
School-age care burden D
Center-based school-age care costs 11.5% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)
Economic hardship D
11.5% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)
Affordability desert Price-change feed

National sticker context: $9,593 average.

Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $7,561/yr beside the $10,412 center sticker; toddler center care is $8,999/yr.

Steep-book age ladder for Nowata County

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $10,412 $7,561
Toddler $8,999 $6,956
Preschool $8,999 $6,956
School Age $5,883 $5,303

Where Nowata County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$10,412 more affordable than 33% of 2,661 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

Nowata County vs. every other Oklahoma county: income vs. infant-care cost

Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Oklahoma counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Oklahoma 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$50,000$60,000$70,000$80,000$90,000 $9,500$10,000$10,500$11,000$11,500$12,000$12,500 Median household income Avg. annual infant care

Within Oklahoma, Nowata County has lower income and lower infant-care cost than the typical Oklahoma county (its national standing, the 33rd 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 Nowata County

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

Age Center Family Center premium
Infant $10,412 $7,561 +$2,851 (+37.7%)
Toddler $8,999 $6,956 +$2,043 (+29.4%)
Preschool $8,999 $6,956 +$2,043 (+29.4%)
School Age $5,883 $5,303 +$580 (+10.9%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $34,293/year versus $26,776/year for family care ($7,517 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.77× school-age center care here. Among the 77Oklahoma counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Nowata County ranks #23 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

Nowata County burden reading

The standout signal in Nowata County, OK is income burden: infant center care takes 20.4% of median ACS income (DESERT · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 9% above the national average.

Heavy-burden tercile counties like Nowata County put infant center care at 20.4% of a $50,960 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.

15 years of federal survey data (2008–2022) show how center-based infant care has moved.

+88.1% since 2008
Infant center care: $5,534 → $10,412
$10,412/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
15 years
Data available (2008–2022)
2008
$5,534
2009
$5,896
2010
$6,257
2011
$6,215
2012
$6,173
2013
$6,734
2014
$7,295
2015
$7,281
2016
$7,266
2017
$7,252
2018
$7,884
2019
$8,516
2020
$9,148
2021
$9,780
2022
$10,412
View full data table (all care types) ▼
Year Ctr Infant
2008 $5,534
2009 $5,896
2010 $6,257
2011 $6,215
2012 $6,173
2013 $6,734
2014 $7,295
2015 $7,281
2016 $7,266
2017 $7,252
2018 $7,884
2019 $8,516
2020 $9,148
2021 $9,780
2022 $10,412

What to do with Nowata County

Infant center care here runs 20.4% of the local median income (DESERT), check where your own household lands.

  • Nowata County spends 20.4% 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
  • $10,412/yr center infant sticker (PAR) - see how Nowata 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 Nowata County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

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