Most & Least Affordable States for Childcare (2022 Data)

Kansas is the most affordable state for center-based infant care relative to income (11.2% of the local median household income), while Washington, D.C. is the least affordable (25.0%), according to 2022 National Database of Childcare Prices data. Every state falls above 11% — none comes close to the old 7%-of-income benchmark.

Key Takeaways

• Kansas is the most affordable state for infant center care at 11.2% of median household income.
• Washington, D.C. is the least affordable at 25.0%.
• The cheapest state by raw price, Mississippi ($118.73/week), is only the 10th most affordable once local income is factored in.
• No state's population-weighted median falls below 11% — the retired 7% benchmark never matched real prices anywhere in the country.
• Affordability and raw price are different rankings. A state can have cheap care and still spend a large share of income on it.

How We Measured Affordability

For each of 2,985 U.S. counties with 2022 NDCP price data, ChildcareCost divided the annualized weekly price of center-based infant care (price × 52) by that county's median household income from the same dataset. We then took the population-weighted median of those county-level shares within each state — the same population-weighting approach this site uses for its official state price medians (see Methodology), applied here to an affordability ratio instead of price alone. This is an original calculation, not a DOL- or Census-published figure.

Household income (rather than family income) was used because it is the more conservative, inclusive figure — it counts every household, including single-earner and single-person ones. See our comparison of family vs. household income for why that distinction matters.

The Most Affordable States for Childcare

These 10 states have the lowest population-weighted median share of household income spent on center-based infant care, as of 2022:

• 1. Kansas — 11.2%
• 2. Wyoming — 11.5%
• 3. South Dakota — 11.8%
• 4. Alabama — 12.0%
• 5. Iowa — 12.0%
• 6. Michigan — 12.3%
• 7. Georgia — 12.4%
• 8. Louisiana — 12.5%
• 9. Idaho — 12.6%
• 10. Mississippi — 12.8%

Kansas's state-level median infant center price is $157.33/week — not the cheapest in the country — but Kansas counties also carry solidly middle-of-the-pack household incomes, which keeps the share of income low across most of the state.

The Least Affordable States for Childcare

These 10 states (plus D.C.) have the highest population-weighted median share of household income spent on center-based infant care:

• 1. District of Columbia — 25.0%
• 2. Massachusetts — 22.9%
• 3. Ohio — 21.6%
• 4. Colorado — 21.3%
• 5. Washington — 21.3%
• 6. Rhode Island — 20.7%
• 7. Nevada — 20.5%
• 8. California — 20.3%
• 9. Minnesota — 20.0%
• 10. Oregon — 20.0%

D.C.'s state-level median infant center price is $490.00/week — more than three times Kansas's. D.C.'s median household income ($101,722 in its largest population tract) is comparable to incomes in Kansas's largest county, Johnson County ($103,644) — so the gap is driven almost entirely by price, not by lower local earnings.

Why Cheap Isn't Always Affordable

Mississippi has the lowest raw childcare price of any state — $118.73/week for center-based infant care, the cheapest in the national price ranking. But Mississippi ranks only 10th on affordability (12.8%), because its median household incomes are also among the lowest in the country. A family in a low-price state can still spend a comparable share of income on care as a family in a mid-price state — affordability depends on both numbers, never price alone.

This is also why the retired federal 7%-of-income benchmark never described real-world affordability: even the single most affordable state, Kansas, sits at 11.2% — 60% above that figure.

How to Check Your Own State

State-level figures are population-weighted medians and can mask wide county-to-county variation. Use the cost calculator to compare your county's actual price against your household income, or browse childcare costs by state to find your county directly.