County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Union County, MS

The standout signal in Union County, MS is sticker price: center infant care runs $6,026/yr (QUIET · quiet-price tercile · #306 of 2,661), 37% below the U.S. average.

Data updated 2026-09-24

$6,026
Center Infant/yr
N/A
Family Infant/yr
$55,970
Median Income
10.8%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Union County pairs top-quartile cheapest infant care nationally with a light income burden on families.

Top 11%
cheapest nationally
Light
income-burden tier
#306
of 2,661 priced counties
B
PlainChildcare Composite Score
73/100
Union County, MS

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 A
Center-based infant care costs 10.8% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)
Preschool care burden A
Center-based preschool care costs 9.8% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)
School-age care burden B
Center-based school-age care costs 9.3% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)
Economic hardship C
8.4% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)
Price-change feed

Quiet-price tercile: center infant care is $6,026/yr (10.8% of median income), absolute stickers are low; capacity and waitlists still bind.

Quiet-book age ladder for Union County

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $6,026 N/A
Toddler $5,486 N/A
Preschool $5,486 N/A
School Age $5,216 N/A

Where Union County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$6,026 Among the most affordable more affordable than 89% 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

Union County vs. every other Mississippi county: income vs. infant-care cost

Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Mississippi counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Mississippi 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 $0$20,000$40,000$60,000$80,000$100,000 $5,500$6,000$6,500$7,000$7,500$8,000$8,500 Median household income Avg. annual infant care

Within Mississippi, Union County has higher income but lower infant-care cost than the typical Mississippi county (its national standing, top-quartile cheapest infant care nationally, is a separate comparison against every U.S. county, not just its own state).

Union County sticker reading

The standout signal in Union County, MS is sticker price: center infant care runs $6,026/yr (QUIET · quiet-price tercile · #306 of 2,661), 37% below the U.S. average.

Light-burden tercile reading: Union County keeps infant center care at 10.8% of a $55,970 median (OVER7). Sticker still matters (QUIET), 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.

13 years of federal survey data (2010–2022) show how center-based infant care has moved.

+71.8% since 2010
Infant center care: $3,508 → $6,026
$6,026/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
13 years
Data available (2010–2022)
2010
$3,508
2011
$3,508
2012
$4,234
2013
$4,960
2014
$4,703
2015
$4,445
2016
$4,189
2017
$4,495
2018
$4,801
2019
$5,107
2020
$5,414
2021
$5,720
2022
$6,026
View full data table (all care types) ▼
Year Ctr Infant
2008 N/A
2009 N/A
2010 $3,508
2011 $3,508
2012 $4,234
2013 $4,960
2014 $4,703
2015 $4,445
2016 $4,189
2017 $4,495
2018 $4,801
2019 $5,107
2020 $5,414
2021 $5,720
2022 $6,026

What to do with Union County

Infant center care here runs 10.8% of the local median income (OVER7), check where your own household lands.

  • Union County spends 10.8% 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
  • $6,026/yr center infant sticker (QUIET) - see how Union 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 Union County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

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