County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in Tensas Parish, LA
The standout signal in Tensas Parish, LA is income burden: infant center care takes 19.0% of median ACS income (HEAVY · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 30% below the national average.
Data updated 2026-09-24
- $6,760
- Center Infant/yr
- $5,373
- Family Infant/yr
- $35,653
- Median Income
- 19.0%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
Tensas Parish pairs top-quartile cheapest infant care nationally with a heavy income burden on families.
- Top 23%
- cheapest nationally
- Heavy
- income-burden tier
- Moderate
- family-vs-infant price gap
- #613
- 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 $6,760/yr with family care at $5,373/yr (19.0% of median income), absolute stickers are low; capacity and waitlists still bind.
Quiet-book age ladder for Tensas Parish
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $6,760 | $5,373 |
| Toddler | $6,728 | $5,373 |
| Preschool | $6,720 | $5,460 |
| School Age | $6,236 | $5,547 |
Where Tensas Parish ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$6,760 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
Tensas Parish vs. every other Louisiana county: income vs. infant-care cost
Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Louisiana counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Louisiana median.
Within Louisiana, Tensas Parish has lower income and lower infant-care cost than the typical Louisiana 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 Tensas Parish
Tensas Parish 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 | $6,760 | $5,373 | +$1,387 (+25.8%) |
| Toddler | $6,728 | $5,373 | +$1,355 (+25.2%) |
| Preschool | $6,720 | $5,460 | +$1,260 (+23.1%) |
| School Age | $6,236 | $5,547 | +$689 (+12.4%) |
Across all four ages, a center path totals $26,444/year versus $21,753/year for family care ($4,691 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.08× school-age center care here. Among the 64Louisiana counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Tensas Parish ranks #11 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).
Tensas Parish burden reading
The standout signal in Tensas Parish, LA is income burden: infant center care takes 19.0% of median ACS income (HEAVY · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 30% below the national average.
Heavy-burden tercile counties like Tensas Parish put infant center care at 19.0% of a $35,653 ACS median, well above the HHS 7% line. 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)
15 years of federal survey data (2008–2022) show how center-based infant care has moved.
View full data table (all care types) ▼
| Year | Ctr Infant |
|---|---|
| 2008 | $4,875 |
| 2009 | $4,940 |
| 2010 | $5,200 |
| 2011 | $5,460 |
| 2012 | $5,720 |
| 2013 | $5,720 |
| 2014 | $5,815 |
| 2015 | $5,930 |
| 2016 | $6,043 |
| 2017 | $6,158 |
| 2018 | $6,272 |
| 2019 | $6,386 |
| 2020 | $6,500 |
| 2021 | $6,630 |
| 2022 | $6,760 |
Nearest infant-price counties in Louisiana
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Tensas Parish's MID NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with Tensas Parish
Infant center care here runs 19.0% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.
- Tensas Parish spends 19.0% 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
- $6,760/yr center infant sticker (MID) - see how Tensas Parish 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 Tensas Parish families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.