County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in Smyth County, VA
The standout signal in Smyth County, VA is the center–family premium: center infant care costs $495/yr more than family care (narrow premium tercile) beside a $6,783 center sticker.
Data updated 2026-09-24
- $6,783
- Center Infant/yr
- $6,288
- Family Infant/yr
- $45,061
- Median Income
- 15.1%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
Smyth County pairs top-quartile cheapest infant care nationally with a moderate income burden on families.
- Top 23%
- cheapest nationally
- Moderate
- income-burden tier
- Narrow
- family-vs-infant price gap
- #622
- 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.
Quiet-price tercile: center infant care is $6,783/yr with family care at $6,288/yr (15.1% of median income), absolute stickers are low; capacity and waitlists still bind.
Quiet-book age ladder for Smyth County
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $6,783 | $6,288 |
| Toddler | $5,866 | $5,718 |
| Preschool | $5,389 | $5,560 |
| School Age | $5,379 | $4,942 |
Where Smyth County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$6,783 Among the most affordable more affordable than 77% 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
Smyth County vs. every other Virginia county: income vs. infant-care cost
Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Virginia counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Virginia median.
Within Virginia, Smyth County has lower income and lower infant-care cost than the typical Virginia county (its national standing, top-quartile cheapest infant care nationally, is a separate comparison against every U.S. county, not just its own state).
Full NDCP Care Ladder in Smyth County
Smyth County sits in the quieter-price third (MID), complete ladders here still show setting trade-offs even when the absolute sticker is low.
| Age | Center | Family | Center premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infant | $6,783 | $6,288 | +$495 (+7.9%) |
| Toddler | $5,866 | $5,718 | +$148 (+2.6%) |
| Preschool | $5,389 | $5,560 | $-171 (-3.1%) |
| School Age | $5,379 | $4,942 | +$437 (+8.8%) |
Across all four ages, a center path totals $23,417/year versus $22,508/year for family care ($909 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.26× school-age center care here. Among the 134Virginia counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Smyth County ranks #16 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).
Smyth County premium reading
The standout signal in Smyth County, VA is the center–family premium: center infant care costs $495/yr more than family care (narrow premium tercile) beside a $6,783 center sticker.
Mid-burden tercile: Smyth County spends 15.1% of a $45,061 median on infant center care (HEAVY). Pair the MID sticker with the age-group table before treating any single cell as the household story.
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)
Here's how center-based infant care priced out from 2009 to 2022, across 13 years of NDCP survey data.
View full data table (all care types) ▼
| Year | Ctr Infant |
|---|---|
| 2008 | N/A |
| 2009 | $5,408 |
| 2010 | $5,356 |
| 2011 | $5,304 |
| 2012 | $5,252 |
| 2013 | $5,408 |
| 2014 | $5,564 |
| 2015 | $5,720 |
| 2016 | $5,807 |
| 2017 | $5,893 |
| 2018 | $5,980 |
| 2019 | $6,067 |
| 2020 | $6,153 |
| 2021 | N/A |
| 2022 | $6,783 |
Nearest infant-price counties in Virginia
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Smyth County's MID NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with Smyth County
Infant center care here runs 15.1% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.
- Smyth County spends 15.1% 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
- $6,783/yr center infant sticker (MID) - see how Smyth 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 Smyth County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.