County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022

Childcare costs in Wilson County, TN

The standout signal in Wilson County, TN is sticker price: center infant care runs $11,007/yr (HIGH · steep-price tercile · #1,980 of 2,661), 15% above the U.S. average.

Data updated 2026-09-24

$11,007
Center Infant/yr
$8,060
Family Infant/yr
$89,462
Median Income
12.3%
% of Income (Infant)

The verdict

Wilson County pairs the 26th percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a light income burden on families.

26th pct.
affordability nationally
Light
income-burden tier
Wide
family-vs-infant price gap
#1,980
of 2,661 priced counties
A
PlainChildcare Composite Score
82/100
Wilson County, TN

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 B
Center-based infant care costs 12.3% of median household income here (national median 14.6%)
Preschool care burden A
Center-based preschool care costs 8.5% of median household income here (national median 12.5%)
School-age care burden A
Center-based school-age care costs 4.4% of median household income here (national median 10.4%)
Economic hardship A
5.6% poverty rate here (national median 9.3%)
Price-change feed

Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $8,060/yr beside the $11,007 center sticker; toddler center care is $7,610/yr.

Steep-book age ladder for Wilson County

Age Group Center-Based Family Childcare
Infant $11,007 $8,060
Toddler $7,610 $6,670
Preschool $7,610 $6,670
School Age $3,969 $5,460

Where Wilson County ranks on infant-care cost

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

$11,007 more affordable than 26% 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

Wilson County vs. every other Tennessee county: income vs. infant-care cost

Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 30 Tennessee counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Tennessee 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 $20,000$40,000$60,000$80,000$100,000 $4,000$6,000$8,000$10,000$12,000 Median household income Avg. annual infant care

Within Tennessee, Wilson County has higher income and higher infant-care cost than the typical Tennessee county (its national standing, the 26th 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 Wilson County

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

Age Center Family Center premium
Infant $11,007 $8,060 +$2,947 (+36.6%)
Toddler $7,610 $6,670 +$940 (+14.1%)
Preschool $7,610 $6,670 +$940 (+14.1%)
School Age $3,969 $5,460 $-1,491 (-27.3%)

Across all four ages, a center path totals $30,196/year versus $26,860/year for family care ($3,336 more at a center). Infant center care runs 2.77× school-age center care here. Among the 95Tennessee counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Wilson County ranks #95 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).

Wilson County sticker reading

The standout signal in Wilson County, TN is sticker price: center infant care runs $11,007/yr (HIGH · steep-price tercile · #1,980 of 2,661), 15% above the U.S. average.

Light-burden tercile reading: Wilson County keeps infant center care at 12.3% of a $89,462 median (HEAVY). Sticker still matters (HIGH), 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.

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

+56.8% since 2008
Infant center care: $7,020 → $11,007
$11,007/yr
Most recent annual cost (2022)
15 years
Data available (2008–2022)
2008
$7,020
2009
$7,020
2010
$7,280
2011
$7,540
2012
$7,800
2013
$7,800
2014
$8,060
2015
$8,216
2016
$8,424
2017
$8,580
2018
$9,620
2019
$9,967
2020
$10,313
2021
$10,660
2022
$11,007
View full data table (all care types) ▼
Year Ctr Infant
2008 $7,020
2009 $7,020
2010 $7,280
2011 $7,540
2012 $7,800
2013 $7,800
2014 $8,060
2015 $8,216
2016 $8,424
2017 $8,580
2018 $9,620
2019 $9,967
2020 $10,313
2021 $10,660
2022 $11,007

What to do with Wilson County

Infant center care here runs 12.3% of the local median income (HEAVY), check where your own household lands.

  • Wilson County spends 12.3% 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
  • $11,007/yr center infant sticker (HIGH) - see how Wilson 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 Wilson County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility

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