National ranking · School-age family care · DOL NDCP 2022

The 100 cheapest counties for school-age family childcare

Family childcare homes (ages 5–12) ranked by lowest annual cost, straight from the U.S. Department of Labor's National Database of Childcare Prices.

Data updated 2026-07-05

$1,084
Cheapest - Clay County, IL
$6,321
National average
2,557
Counties with data

Ranked by reported family-childcare cost only, not a quality, safety, or licensing rating. Verify licensing and current pricing directly with providers or your state's Child Care Resource & Referral (CCR&R) agency before choosing care.

What the ranking shows

The cheapest county for family-based school-age care is Clay County, IL at $1,084 a year - 83% below the national average of $6,321. The #100 cutoff to make this list is $2,361/yr (Lincoln County, GA), so every county here sits well under the typical U.S. price for after-school and summer care in a home setting.

$1,084
#1 · Clay County, IL
$2,361
#100, the cutoff to make this list
National avg
$6,321/yr
Counties ranked
2,557

Source: U.S. Department of Labor, National Database of Childcare Prices (2022). Family childcare = care in a provider's home; school-age = roughly ages 5–12 (before/after-school and summer).

#CountyFamily · school-age /yrShare of incomeMedian income
1Clay County, ILIllinois$1,0841.9%$58,028
2Woodford County, ILIllinois$1,1311.4%$80,093
3McDonough County, ILIllinois$1,1832.4%$48,904
4Jefferson County, ILIllinois$1,2252.1%$58,384
5Greene County, ILIllinois$1,2382.1%$58,900
6Cumberland County, ILIllinois$1,2481.8%$71,274
7Pike County, ILIllinois$1,3002.3%$55,514
8Scott County, ILIllinois$1,3001.8%$70,500
9Hancock County, ILIllinois$1,3572.2%$61,026
10Macon County, ILIllinois$1,3572.3%$59,622
11Macoupin County, ILIllinois$1,3622.1%$64,706
12Clark County, ILIllinois$1,4462.2%$65,874
13Jackson County, ILIllinois$1,4463.2%$44,847
14Adams County, ILIllinois$1,5212.4%$63,767
15Champaign County, ILIllinois$1,5372.5%$61,090
16Crawford County, ILIllinois$1,5372.4%$64,163
17Douglas County, ILIllinois$1,6252.4%$67,177
18Fayette County, ILIllinois$1,6253.1%$51,962
19Livingston County, ILIllinois$1,6252.4%$68,175
20Moultrie County, ILIllinois$1,6252.2%$72,833
21Piatt County, ILIllinois$1,6252.0%$81,151
22Richland County, ILIllinois$1,6432.7%$61,607
23Stephenson County, ILIllinois$1,6432.9%$57,527
24Schuyler County, ILIllinois$1,6542.6%$63,737
25Effingham County, ILIllinois$1,6872.3%$73,181
26Montgomery County, ILIllinois$1,7342.8%$61,796
27Marion County, ILIllinois$1,7503.0%$59,099
28Shelby County, ILIllinois$1,7542.7%$65,585
29Menard County, ILIllinois$1,7732.1%$84,846
30Morgan County, ILIllinois$1,7732.9%$61,188
31Coles County, ILIllinois$1,7943.3%$53,732
32Iroquois County, ILIllinois$1,8152.9%$62,866
33Lawrence County, ILIllinois$1,8893.4%$55,811
34Lake County, ILIllinois$1,9111.8%$104,553
35De Witt County, ILIllinois$1,9503.2%$61,823
36Jasper County, ILIllinois$1,9502.9%$67,429
37Kankakee County, ILIllinois$1,9503.0%$65,489
38Mercer County, ILIllinois$1,9502.9%$67,028
39Franklin County, ILIllinois$2,0003.9%$51,031
40Mason County, ILIllinois$2,0143.4%$58,479
41Will County, ILIllinois$2,0802.0%$103,678
42Winnebago County, ILIllinois$2,1143.4%$61,738
43St. Clair County, ILIllinois$2,1293.1%$68,915
44Ford County, ILIllinois$2,1703.7%$58,930
45Madison County, ILIllinois$2,2053.1%$71,759
46Converse County, WYWyoming$2,2142.8%$79,235
47Chatham County, GAGeorgia$2,3093.5%$66,171
48Boone County, ILIllinois$2,3352.9%$80,502
49Appling County, GAGeorgia$2,3615.5%$43,268
50Atkinson County, GAGeorgia$2,3616.2%$38,007
51Bacon County, GAGeorgia$2,3615.4%$43,938
52Baker County, GAGeorgia$2,3615.2%$45,417
53Banks County, GAGeorgia$2,3613.4%$69,096
54Ben Hill County, GAGeorgia$2,3616.2%$38,255
55Berrien County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.9%$48,670
56Bleckley County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.2%$56,021
57Brantley County, GAGeorgia$2,3615.9%$40,166
58Brooks County, GAGeorgia$2,3615.6%$42,263
59Burke County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.7%$50,321
60Calhoun County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.9%$48,663
61Candler County, GAGeorgia$2,3615.2%$45,519
62Carroll County, GAGeorgia$2,3613.5%$66,895
63Charlton County, GAGeorgia$2,3615.2%$45,770
64Chattahoochee County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.5%$52,943
65Chattooga County, GAGeorgia$2,3615.4%$43,556
66Clay County, GAGeorgia$2,3615.5%$43,264
67Clinch County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.4%$53,350
68Coffee County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.9%$48,398
69Colquitt County, GAGeorgia$2,3615.0%$47,235
70Cook County, GAGeorgia$2,3615.1%$46,706
71Crawford County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.1%$56,948
72Crisp County, GAGeorgia$2,3615.0%$47,463
73Dade County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.0%$59,531
74Decatur County, GAGeorgia$2,3615.0%$47,383
75Dodge County, GAGeorgia$2,3615.1%$46,091
76Dooly County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.4%$54,109
77Early County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.9%$48,355
78Echols County, GAGeorgia$2,3613.9%$61,184
79Elbert County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.9%$48,190
80Emanuel County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.9%$47,905
81Evans County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.3%$55,222
82Fannin County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.3%$54,857
83Franklin County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.5%$52,597
84Gilmer County, GAGeorgia$2,3613.4%$70,334
85Glascock County, GAGeorgia$2,3613.9%$60,469
86Grady County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.5%$51,929
87Greene County, GAGeorgia$2,3613.0%$77,527
88Habersham County, GAGeorgia$2,3613.9%$61,292
89Hancock County, GAGeorgia$2,3617.4%$31,767
90Haralson County, GAGeorgia$2,3613.6%$65,940
91Heard County, GAGeorgia$2,3613.7%$62,965
92Irwin County, GAGeorgia$2,3615.1%$46,383
93Jasper County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.1%$57,374
94Jeff Davis County, GAGeorgia$2,3615.7%$41,780
95Jefferson County, GAGeorgia$2,3615.0%$46,865
96Jenkins County, GAGeorgia$2,3617.5%$31,463
97Johnson County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.9%$47,796
98Lanier County, GAGeorgia$2,3615.9%$39,971
99Laurens County, GAGeorgia$2,3615.0%$46,776
100Lincoln County, GAGeorgia$2,3614.7%$50,754

How to read this ranking

According to the U.S. Department of Labor's National Database of Childcare Prices (latest release, reference-year 2022), family childcare homes report school-age prices for more than 2,500 of the roughly 3,200 U.S. counties we track. Every figure above is the annual, full-time-equivalent price a family childcare home charges for school-age care (roughly ages 5 to 12) in that county. Family childcare runs out of a provider's own home and is usually cheaper than a commercial center, especially for school-age children who only need before-school, after-school, and summer coverage rather than a full day. See our methodology for how these figures are sourced and compared.

Low headline prices often track low local incomes and thin provider markets, so the cheapest counties tend to be rural. A low price is not automatically a bargain: fewer providers can mean long waitlists or limited hours. Compare the family price against the center price and the local median income in the table, and open any county for the full age-by-age breakdown and trend.

Method & caveats

Counties are ranked in ascending order of reported family-childcare school-age cost; counties with no reported family school-age price are excluded. Prices are NDCP market-rate survey figures for the latest release year (2022) and do not reflect subsidies, sibling discounts, or part-time schedules, which can lower what a family actually pays. Always confirm current rates and licensing directly with the provider and your state's Child Care Resource & Referral agency.