County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in Stearns County, MN
The standout signal in Stearns County, MN is income burden: infant center care takes 30.6% of median ACS income (DESERT · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 133% above the national average.
Data updated 2026-09-24
- $22,395
- Center Infant/yr
- $7,453
- Family Infant/yr
- $73,105
- Median Income
- 30.6%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
Stearns County pairs the 1st percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a heavy income burden on families.
- 1st pct.
- affordability nationally
- Heavy
- income-burden tier
- Wide
- family-vs-infant price gap
- #2,642
- 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.
Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $7,453/yr beside the $22,395 center sticker; toddler center care is $19,850/yr.
Steep-book age ladder for Stearns County
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $22,395 | $7,453 |
| Toddler | $19,850 | $6,847 |
| Preschool | $17,507 | $6,847 |
| School Age | $12,965 | $6,587 |
Where Stearns County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$22,395 more affordable than 1% 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
Stearns County vs. every other Minnesota county: income vs. infant-care cost
Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Minnesota counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Minnesota median.
Within Minnesota, Stearns County has higher income and higher infant-care cost than the typical Minnesota county (its national standing, the 1st 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 Stearns County
Stearns County sits in the steep-price third of NDCP-priced counties (PEAK), read center premiums and the infant-to-school-age drop as county-specific, not a clone caption.
| Age | Center | Family | Center premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infant | $22,395 | $7,453 | +$14,942 (+200.5%) |
| Toddler | $19,850 | $6,847 | +$13,003 (+189.9%) |
| Preschool | $17,507 | $6,847 | +$10,660 (+155.7%) |
| School Age | $12,965 | $6,587 | +$6,378 (+96.8%) |
Across all four ages, a center path totals $72,717/year versus $27,734/year for family care ($44,983 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.73× school-age center care here. Among the 87Minnesota counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Stearns County ranks #87 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).
Stearns County burden reading
The standout signal in Stearns County, MN is income burden: infant center care takes 30.6% of median ACS income (DESERT · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 133% above the national average.
Heavy-burden tercile counties like Stearns County put infant center care at 30.6% of a $73,105 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)
Here's how center-based infant care priced out from 2008 to 2022, across 15 years of NDCP survey data.
View full data table (all care types) ▼
| Year | Ctr Infant |
|---|---|
| 2008 | $11,700 |
| 2009 | $10,920 |
| 2010 | $10,140 |
| 2011 | $10,140 |
| 2012 | $10,244 |
| 2013 | $10,192 |
| 2014 | $10,140 |
| 2015 | $10,426 |
| 2016 | $10,712 |
| 2017 | $11,492 |
| 2018 | $12,272 |
| 2019 | $14,803 |
| 2020 | $17,333 |
| 2021 | $19,864 |
| 2022 | $22,395 |
Nearest infant-price counties in Minnesota
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Stearns County's PEAK NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with Stearns County
Infant center care here runs 30.6% of the local median income (DESERT), check where your own household lands.
- Stearns County spends 30.6% 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
- $22,395/yr center infant sticker (PEAK) - see how Stearns 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 Stearns County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.