County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in Smith County, MS
The standout signal in Smith County, MS is sticker price: center infant care runs $6,126/yr (QUIET · quiet-price tercile · #354 of 2,661), 36% below the U.S. average.
Data updated 2026-09-24
- $6,126
- Center Infant/yr
- N/A
- Family Infant/yr
- $51,983
- Median Income
- 11.8%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
Smith County pairs top-quartile cheapest infant care nationally with a light income burden on families.
- Top 13%
- cheapest nationally
- Light
- income-burden tier
- #354
- 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.
Quiet-price tercile: center infant care is $6,126/yr (11.8% of median income), absolute stickers are low; capacity and waitlists still bind.
Quiet-book age ladder for Smith County
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $6,126 | N/A |
| Toddler | $5,575 | N/A |
| Preschool | $5,575 | N/A |
| School Age | $5,300 | N/A |
Where Smith County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$6,126 Among the most affordable more affordable than 87% 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
Smith 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.
Within Mississippi, Smith County has higher income and higher 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).
Smith County sticker reading
The standout signal in Smith County, MS is sticker price: center infant care runs $6,126/yr (QUIET · quiet-price tercile · #354 of 2,661), 36% below the U.S. average.
Light-burden tercile reading: Smith County keeps infant center care at 11.8% of a $51,983 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.
Historical Price Trends (2008–2022)
Center-based infant care costs over 2010–2022 (13 years of NDCP data).
View full data table (all care types) ▼
| Year | Ctr Infant |
|---|---|
| 2008 | N/A |
| 2009 | N/A |
| 2010 | $3,451 |
| 2011 | $3,771 |
| 2012 | $4,159 |
| 2013 | $4,547 |
| 2014 | $4,262 |
| 2015 | $3,977 |
| 2016 | $3,693 |
| 2017 | $4,099 |
| 2018 | $4,504 |
| 2019 | $4,909 |
| 2020 | $5,314 |
| 2021 | $5,720 |
| 2022 | $6,126 |
Nearest infant-price counties in Mississippi
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Smith County's QUIET NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with Smith County
Infant center care here runs 11.8% of the local median income (OVER7), check where your own household lands.
- Smith County spends 11.8% 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
- $6,126/yr center infant sticker (QUIET) - see how Smith 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 Smith County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.