County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Williamson County, IL

The standout signal in Williamson County, IL is income burden: infant center care takes 22.8% of median ACS income (DESERT · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 43% above the national average.

Data updated 2026-09-24

$13,734
Center Infant/yr
$9,620
Family Infant/yr
$60,325
Median Income
22.8%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Williamson County pairs the 11th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a heavy income burden on families.

11th pct.
affordability nationally
Heavy
income-burden tier
Wide
family-vs-infant price gap
#2,363
of 2,661 priced counties
C
PlainChildcare Composite Score
40/100
Williamson County, IL

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 F
Center-based infant care costs 22.8% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)
Preschool care burden D
Center-based preschool care costs 14.8% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)
School-age care burden A
Center-based school-age care costs 2.4% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)
Economic hardship C
8.9% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)
Affordability desert Price-change feed

National sticker context: $9,593 average.

Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $9,620/yr beside the $13,734 center sticker; toddler center care is $10,660/yr.

Steep-book age ladder for Williamson County

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $13,734 $9,620
Toddler $10,660 $8,927
Preschool $8,927 $8,237
School Age $1,477 $4,118

Where Williamson County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$13,734 more affordable than 11% 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

Williamson County vs. every other Illinois county: income vs. infant-care cost

Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Illinois counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Illinois 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$120,000 $5,000$10,000$15,000$20,000$25,000 Median household income Avg. annual infant care

Within Illinois, Williamson County has lower income but higher infant-care cost than the typical Illinois county (its national standing, the 11th 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 Williamson County

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

Age Center Family Center premium
Infant $13,734 $9,620 +$4,114 (+42.8%)
Toddler $10,660 $8,927 +$1,733 (+19.4%)
Preschool $8,927 $8,237 +$690 (+8.4%)
School Age $1,477 $4,118 $-2,641 (-64.1%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $34,798/year versus $30,902/year for family care ($3,896 more at a center). Infant center care runs 9.3× school-age center care here. Among the 36Illinois counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Williamson County ranks #20 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

Williamson County burden reading

The standout signal in Williamson County, IL is income burden: infant center care takes 22.8% of median ACS income (DESERT · heavy-burden tercile), while the sticker sits 43% above the national average.

Heavy-burden tercile counties like Williamson County put infant center care at 22.8% of a $60,325 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.

+94.7% since 2008
Infant center care: $7,054 → $13,734
$13,734/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
15 years
Data available (2008–2022)
2008
$7,054
2009
$7,371
2010
$7,688
2011
$7,874
2012
$8,060
2013
$8,320
2014
$8,580
2015
$8,649
2016
$8,718
2017
$8,718
2018
$8,718
2019
$9,972
2020
$11,226
2021
$12,480
2022
$13,734
View full data table (all care types) ▼
Year Ctr Infant
2008 $7,054
2009 $7,371
2010 $7,688
2011 $7,874
2012 $8,060
2013 $8,320
2014 $8,580
2015 $8,649
2016 $8,718
2017 $8,718
2018 $8,718
2019 $9,972
2020 $11,226
2021 $12,480
2022 $13,734

What to do with Williamson County

Infant center care here runs 22.8% of the local median income (DESERT), check where your own household lands.

  • Williamson County spends 22.8% 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
  • $13,734/yr center infant sticker (STEEP) - see how Williamson 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 Williamson County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

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