County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Towner County, ND

The standout signal in Towner County, ND is income burden: infant center care takes 17.0% of median ACS income (HEAVY · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 9% above the national average.

Data updated 2026-09-24

$10,443
Center Infant/yr
$7,674
Family Infant/yr
$61,250
Median Income
17.0%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Towner County pairs the 33rd percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a heavy income burden on families.

33rd pct.
affordability nationally
Heavy
income-burden tier
Wide
family-vs-infant price gap
#1,783
of 2,661 priced counties
D
PlainChildcare Composite Score
36/100
Towner County, ND

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.

Infant care burden D
Center-based infant care costs 17% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)
Preschool care burden D
Center-based preschool care costs 14.4% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)
School-age care burden F
Center-based school-age care costs 14% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)
Economic hardship B
8% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)
Price-change feed

National sticker context: $9,593 average.

Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $7,674/yr beside the $10,443 center sticker; toddler center care is $9,543/yr.

Steep-book age ladder for Towner County

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $10,443 $7,674
Toddler $9,543 $7,252
Preschool $8,841 $7,295
School Age $8,560 $7,478

Where Towner County ranks on infant-care cost

Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices

$10,443 more affordable than 33% of 2,661 US counties

This county $2,500 $32,500 every U.S. county, bucketed by value

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

Towner County vs. every other North Dakota county: income vs. infant-care cost

Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 North Dakota counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the North Dakota median.

Median household income vs Avg. annual infant care 2×2 strategic matrix plotting 30 entities by Median household income (X) and Avg. annual infant care (Y), with a crosshair dividing the plot into four quadrants. High income, high costLow income, high costHigh income, low costLow income, low cost $40,000$60,000$80,000$100,000 $10,000$11,000$12,000$13,000 Median household income Avg. annual infant care

Within North Dakota, Towner County has lower income and lower infant-care cost than the typical North Dakota county (its national standing, the 33rd 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 Towner County

Towner County sits in the steep-price third of NDCP-priced counties (PAR), read center premiums and the infant-to-school-age drop as county-specific, not a clone caption.

Age Center Family Center premium
Infant $10,443 $7,674 +$2,769 (+36.1%)
Toddler $9,543 $7,252 +$2,291 (+31.6%)
Preschool $8,841 $7,295 +$1,546 (+21.2%)
School Age $8,560 $7,478 +$1,082 (+14.5%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $37,387/year versus $29,699/year for family care ($7,688 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.22× school-age center care here. Among the 53North Dakota counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Towner County ranks #16 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

Towner County burden reading

The standout signal in Towner County, ND is income burden: infant center care takes 17.0% of median ACS income (HEAVY · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 9% above the national average.

Heavy-burden tercile counties like Towner County put infant center care at 17.0% of a $61,250 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.

15 years of federal survey data (2008–2022) show how center-based infant care has moved.

+85.4% since 2008
Infant center care: $5,632 → $10,443
$10,443/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
15 years
Data available (2008–2022)
2008
$5,632
2009
$5,603
2010
$5,677
2011
$5,750
2012
$5,839
2013
$5,928
2014
$6,017
2015
$6,106
2016
$6,345
2017
$6,584
2018
$7,355
2019
$8,128
2020
$8,899
2021
$9,671
2022
$10,443
View full data table (all care types) ▼
Year Ctr Infant
2008 $5,632
2009 $5,603
2010 $5,677
2011 $5,750
2012 $5,839
2013 $5,928
2014 $6,017
2015 $6,106
2016 $6,345
2017 $6,584
2018 $7,355
2019 $8,128
2020 $8,899
2021 $9,671
2022 $10,443

What to do with Towner County

Infant center care here runs 17.0% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.

  • Towner County spends 17.0% 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
  • $10,443/yr center infant sticker (PAR) - see how Towner 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 Towner County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.