County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Pontotoc County, MS

The standout signal in Pontotoc County, MS is sticker price: center infant care runs $6,044/yr (QUIET · quiet-price tercile · #312 of 2,661), 37% below the U.S. average.

Data updated 2026-09-24

$6,044
Center Infant/yr
N/A
Family Infant/yr
$54,414
Median Income
11.1%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Pontotoc County pairs top-quartile cheapest infant care nationally with a light income burden on families.

Top 12%
cheapest nationally
Light
income-burden tier
#312
of 2,661 priced counties
B
PlainChildcare Composite Score
63/100
Pontotoc County, MS

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 A
Center-based infant care costs 11.1% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)
Preschool care burden B
Center-based preschool care costs 10.1% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)
School-age care burden C
Center-based school-age care costs 9.6% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)
Economic hardship D
12.6% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)
Price-change feed

Quiet-price tercile: center infant care is $6,044/yr (11.1% of median income), absolute stickers are low; capacity and waitlists still bind.

Quiet-book age ladder for Pontotoc County

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $6,044 N/A
Toddler $5,502 N/A
Preschool $5,502 N/A
School Age $5,231 N/A

Where Pontotoc County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$6,044 Among the most affordable more affordable than 88% 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

Pontotoc County vs. every other Mississippi county: income vs. infant-care cost

Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Mississippi counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Mississippi 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 $0$20,000$40,000$60,000$80,000$100,000 $5,500$6,000$6,500$7,000$7,500$8,000$8,500 Median household income Avg. annual infant care

Within Mississippi, Pontotoc County has higher income but lower infant-care cost than the typical Mississippi county (its national standing, top-quartile cheapest infant care nationally, is a separate comparison against every U.S. county, not just its own state).

Pontotoc County sticker reading

The standout signal in Pontotoc County, MS is sticker price: center infant care runs $6,044/yr (QUIET · quiet-price tercile · #312 of 2,661), 37% below the U.S. average.

Light-burden tercile reading: Pontotoc County keeps infant center care at 11.1% of a $54,414 median (OVER7). Sticker still matters (QUIET), 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.

Here's how center-based infant care priced out from 2010 to 2022, across 13 years of NDCP survey data.

+94.2% since 2010
Infant center care: $3,112 → $6,044
$6,044/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
13 years
Data available (2010–2022)
2010
$3,112
2011
$3,604
2012
$4,195
2013
$4,787
2014
$4,558
2015
$4,328
2016
$4,099
2017
$4,423
2018
$4,748
2019
$5,072
2020
$5,396
2021
$5,720
2022
$6,044
View full data table (all care types) ▼
Year Ctr Infant
2008 N/A
2009 N/A
2010 $3,112
2011 $3,604
2012 $4,195
2013 $4,787
2014 $4,558
2015 $4,328
2016 $4,099
2017 $4,423
2018 $4,748
2019 $5,072
2020 $5,396
2021 $5,720
2022 $6,044

What to do with Pontotoc County

Infant center care here runs 11.1% of the local median income (OVER7), check where your own household lands.

  • Pontotoc County spends 11.1% 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
  • $6,044/yr center infant sticker (QUIET) - see how Pontotoc 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 Pontotoc County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

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