County childcare costs · DOL NDCP 2022
Childcare costs in Worcester County, MA
The standout signal in Worcester County, MA is sticker price: center infant care runs $20,296/yr (PEAK · steep-price tercile · #2,621 of 2,661), 112% above the U.S. average.
Data updated 2026-09-24
- $20,296
- Center Infant/yr
- $13,000
- Family Infant/yr
- $88,524
- Median Income
- 22.9%
- % of Income (Infant)
The verdict
Worcester County pairs the 2nd percentile for infant-care affordability nationally with a heavy income burden on families.
- 2nd pct.
- affordability nationally
- Heavy
- income-burden tier
- Wide
- family-vs-infant price gap
- #2,621
- 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.
Steep-price tercile: family infant care here is $13,000/yr beside the $20,296 center sticker; toddler center care is $18,200/yr.
Steep-book age ladder for Worcester County
| Age Group | Center-Based | Family Childcare |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $20,296 | $13,000 |
| Toddler | $18,200 | $12,875 |
| Preschool | $14,820 | $12,220 |
| School Age | $10,920 | $11,700 |
Where Worcester County ranks on infant-care cost
Center-based infant care, every U.S. county with reported prices
$20,296 more affordable than 2% 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
Worcester County vs. every other Massachusetts county: income vs. infant-care cost
Median household income (x) vs. average center-based infant care (y) across 14 Massachusetts counties with reported prices. Crosshairs at the Massachusetts median.
Within Massachusetts, Worcester County has lower income but higher infant-care cost than the typical Massachusetts county (its national standing, the 2nd 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 Worcester County
Worcester County sits in the steep-price third of NDCP-priced counties (PEAK), read center premiums and the infant-to-school-age drop as county-specific, not a clone caption.
| Age | Center | Family | Center premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infant | $20,296 | $13,000 | +$7,296 (+56.1%) |
| Toddler | $18,200 | $12,875 | +$5,325 (+41.4%) |
| Preschool | $14,820 | $12,220 | +$2,600 (+21.3%) |
| School Age | $10,920 | $11,700 | $-780 (-6.7%) |
Across all four ages, a center path totals $64,236/year versus $49,795/year for family care ($14,441 more at a center). Infant center care runs 1.86× school-age center care here. Among the 14Massachusetts counties with a complete NDCP ladder, Worcester County ranks #10 by infant center price (1 = cheapest).
Worcester County sticker reading
The standout signal in Worcester County, MA is sticker price: center infant care runs $20,296/yr (PEAK · steep-price tercile · #2,621 of 2,661), 112% above the U.S. average.
Heavy-burden tercile counties like Worcester County put infant center care at 22.9% of a $88,524 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.
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 | $14,040 |
| 2009 | $13,997 |
| 2010 | $13,953 |
| 2011 | $13,910 |
| 2012 | $14,073 |
| 2013 | $14,235 |
| 2014 | $14,398 |
| 2015 | $14,560 |
| 2016 | $15,427 |
| 2017 | $16,293 |
| 2018 | $17,160 |
| 2019 | $17,944 |
| 2020 | $18,728 |
| 2021 | $19,512 |
| 2022 | $20,296 |
Nearest infant-price counties in Massachusetts
Ordered by ABS(center_infant) to Worcester County's PEAK NDCP sticker - not A-Z chrome.
What to do with Worcester County
Infant center care here runs 22.9% of the local median income (DESERT), check where your own household lands.
- Worcester County spends 22.9% 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
- $20,296/yr center infant sticker (PEAK) - see how Worcester 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 Worcester County families are likely eligible. Check subsidy eligibility
Figures are NDCP county-level survey medians for 2022 - your local providers set the actual price.