County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in St. Clair County, IL
The standout signal in St. Clair County, IL is sticker price: center infant care runs $12,376/yr (HIGH · steep-price tercile · #2,254 of 2,661), 29% above the U.S. average.
Data updated 2026-09-24
- $12,376
- Center Infant/yr
- $9,661
- Family Infant/yr
- $68,915
- Median Income
- 18.0%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
St. Clair County pairs the 15th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a heavy income burden on families.
- 15th pct.
- affordability nationally
- Heavy
- income-burden tier
- Moderate
- family-vs-infant price gap
- #2,254
- 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.
Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $9,661/yr beside the $12,376 center sticker; toddler center care is $10,140/yr.
Steep-book age ladder for St. Clair County
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $12,376 | $9,661 |
| Toddler | $10,140 | $8,980 |
| Preschool | $8,407 | $8,240 |
| School Age | $1,895 | $2,129 |
Where St. Clair County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$12,376 more affordable than 15% 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
St. Clair County vs. every other Illinois county: income vs. infant-care cost
Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Illinois counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Illinois median.
Within Illinois, St. Clair County has higher income and higher infant-care cost than the typical Illinois county (its national standing, the 15th 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 St. Clair County
St. Clair County sits in the steep-price third of NDCP-priced counties (HIGH), read center premiums and the infant-to-school-age drop as county-specific, not a clone caption.
| Age | Center | Family | Center premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infant | $12,376 | $9,661 | +$2,715 (+28.1%) |
| Toddler | $10,140 | $8,980 | +$1,160 (+12.9%) |
| Preschool | $8,407 | $8,240 | +$167 (+2%) |
| School Age | $1,895 | $2,129 | $-234 (-11%) |
Across all four ages, a center path totals $32,818/year versus $29,010/year for family care ($3,808 more at a center). Infant center care runs 6.53× school-age center care here. Among the 36Illinois counties with a complete NDCP ladder, St. Clair County ranks #17 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).
St. Clair County sticker reading
The standout signal in St. Clair County, IL is sticker price: center infant care runs $12,376/yr (HIGH · steep-price tercile · #2,254 of 2,661), 29% above the U.S. average.
Heavy-burden tercile counties like St. Clair County put infant center care at 18.0% of a $68,915 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 | $9,932 |
| 2009 | $10,363 |
| 2010 | $10,793 |
| 2011 | $11,247 |
| 2012 | $11,700 |
| 2013 | $11,894 |
| 2014 | $12,087 |
| 2015 | $12,089 |
| 2016 | $12,090 |
| 2017 | $12,155 |
| 2018 | $12,220 |
| 2019 | $12,259 |
| 2020 | $12,298 |
| 2021 | $12,337 |
| 2022 | $12,376 |
Nearest infant-price counties in Illinois
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to St. Clair County's HIGH NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with St. Clair County
Infant center care here runs 18.0% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.
- St. Clair County spends 18.0% 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
- $12,376/yr center infant sticker (HIGH) - see how St. Clair 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 St. Clair County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.