County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in St. Mary's County, MD
The standout signal in St. Mary's County, MD is sticker price: center infant care runs $13,231/yr (HIGH · steep-price tercile · #2,338 of 2,661), 38% above the U.S. average.
Data updated 2026-09-24
- $13,231
- Center Infant/yr
- $9,190
- Family Infant/yr
- $113,668
- Median Income
- 11.6%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
St. Mary's County pairs the 12th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a light income burden on families.
- 12th pct.
- affordability nationally
- Light
- income-burden tier
- Wide
- family-vs-infant price gap
- #2,338
- 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 $9,190/yr beside the $13,231 center sticker; toddler center care is $9,116/yr.
Steep-book age ladder for St. Mary's County
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $13,231 | $9,190 |
| Toddler | $9,116 | $8,127 |
| Preschool | $9,116 | $8,127 |
| School Age | $8,455 | $6,730 |
Where St. Mary's County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$13,231 more affordable than 12% 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. Mary's County vs. every other Maryland county: income vs. infant-care cost
Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 24 Maryland counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Maryland median.
Within Maryland, St. Mary's County has higher income and higher infant-care cost than the typical Maryland county (its national standing, the 12th 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. Mary's County
St. Mary's 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 | $13,231 | $9,190 | +$4,041 (+44%) |
| Toddler | $9,116 | $8,127 | +$989 (+12.2%) |
| Preschool | $9,116 | $8,127 | +$989 (+12.2%) |
| School Age | $8,455 | $6,730 | +$1,725 (+25.6%) |
Across all four ages, a center path totals $39,918/year versus $32,174/year for family care ($7,744 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.56× school-age center care here. Among the 24Maryland counties with a complete NDCP ladder, St. Mary's County ranks #12 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).
St. Mary's County sticker reading
The standout signal in St. Mary's County, MD is sticker price: center infant care runs $13,231/yr (HIGH · steep-price tercile · #2,338 of 2,661), 38% above the U.S. average.
Light-burden tercile reading: St. Mary's County keeps infant center care at 11.6% of a $113,668 median (OVER7). Sticker still matters (HIGH), 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)
10 years of federal survey data (2013–2022) show how center-based infant care has moved.
View full data table (all care types) ▼
| Year | Ctr Infant |
|---|---|
| 2008 | N/A |
| 2009 | N/A |
| 2010 | N/A |
| 2011 | N/A |
| 2012 | N/A |
| 2013 | $10,307 |
| 2014 | $10,556 |
| 2015 | $10,805 |
| 2016 | $11,053 |
| 2017 | $11,301 |
| 2018 | $11,688 |
| 2019 | $12,073 |
| 2020 | $12,460 |
| 2021 | $12,846 |
| 2022 | $13,231 |
Nearest infant-price counties in Maryland
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to St. Mary's County's HIGH NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with St. Mary's County
Infant center care here runs 11.6% of the local median income (OVER7), check where your own household lands.
- St. Mary's County spends 11.6% 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
- $13,231/yr center infant sticker (HIGH) - see how St. Mary's 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. Mary's County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.