Texas Child Care Costs by County: 2022 Official Data

Texas's population-weighted median price for center-based infant care is $185.00 per week — $802/month, $9,620/year — per the U.S. Department of Labor's 2022 National Database of Childcare Prices. That is 24.1% below the U.S. median of $243.75/week, ranking Texas 33rd of the 44 states (plus D.C.) with data — one of the more affordable large states in the country.

Key takeaways

• Texas median (infant, center-based): $185.00/week — 24.1% below the national median.
• Most expensive county: Travis County (Austin), at $229.00/week.
• Least expensive counties: a five-way tie at $113.00/week (Sterling, Tom Green, McCulloch, Coke, Concho).
• Full data coverage: all 254 Texas counties report a price — the most of any state, none imputed among its named metros.
• Harris County (Houston) = the state median exactly: $185.00/week.

How much does child care cost in Texas, by age?

Texas's statewide medians by age group, center-based versus family (home-based) care:

• Infant: $185.00/week center · $164.00/week family
• Toddler: $172.00/week center · $155.00/week family
• Preschool: $167.00/week center · $153.00/week family
• School-age: $156.00/week center · $144.00/week family

Unlike several other large states, Texas shows a consistent $21.00–$14.00/week center-over-family gap across every age group, with no reversal at school-age.

The most and least expensive counties in Texas

Travis County — home to Austin — is Texas's clear outlier at the top, priced well above every other county and, unlike many high-price counties nationally, not flagged as DOL-imputed:

• Travis County (Austin) — $229.00/week
• Lee County — $202.00/week
• Fayette County — $202.00/week
• Bastrop County — $202.00/week
• Caldwell County — $202.00/week

At the bottom, five west-central Texas counties tie for the state's lowest price:

• Sterling County — $113.00/week
• Tom Green County — $113.00/week
• McCulloch County — $113.00/week
• Coke County — $113.00/week
• Concho County — $113.00/week

The big four metros: Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Fort Worth

Center-based prices by age group for Texas's four largest urban counties, plus Austin's Travis County for comparison:

• Harris County (Houston) — infant $185.00 · toddler $172.00 · preschool $167.00 · school-age $156.00
• Dallas County — infant $194.00 · toddler $180.00 · preschool $175.00 · school-age $164.00
• Bexar County (San Antonio) — infant $171.00 · toddler $160.00 · preschool $156.00 · school-age $149.00
• Tarrant County (Fort Worth) — infant $199.00 · toddler $185.00 · preschool $180.00 · school-age $169.00
• Travis County (Austin) — infant $229.00 · toddler $214.00 · preschool $209.00 · school-age $197.00

Harris County's infant-center price, $185.00, is exactly Texas's statewide median — the same pattern seen in San Diego County, California: because state medians here are a population-weighted median of county medians, the reported figure is always some real county's actual price, and in Texas that county is Harris.

Browse every Texas county

For the full 254-county price table, see the Texas state page. Individual county detail is available for Harris County, Travis County, and every other Texas county. Estimate your own family's cost with the childcare cost calculator.