What care costs for a preschooler and for two children, county by county, and how it compares with what families here earn.
Full-time care for a 4-year-old costs about $5,612 a year in the typical county in Arkansas, or $468 a month, 30.2% less than the $8,040 for the typical county nationally. Care for a 4-year-old and an 8-year-old comes to about $11,067 a year. The cost of care for one preschooler is 9.2% of median family income in the typical county.
The federal Department of Health and Human Services counts child care as affordable when it takes no more than 7% of family income. For one 4-year-old, none of Arkansas's 75 counties meet that at the median family income; nationally, 259 of 3,131 counties do. In the budget EPI draws up for two parents and two children, child care is 13.0% of the total in the typical county.
Build a budget with your own child care cost, or see the rest of what Arkansas costs.
Care for a 4-year-old costs most in Benton County ($8,063), Craighead County ($8,063) and Crawford County ($8,063), and least in Sebastian County ($5,217), Yell County ($5,612) and White County ($5,612). Metro counties are priced at child care centers, other counties at home-based family child care.
| Arkansas County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 7.7% |
| Ashley County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 9.3% |
| Baxter County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 9.1% |
| Benton County | $8,063 | $672 | $14,671 | 7.8% |
| Boone County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 8.1% |
| Bradley County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 8.9% |
| Calhoun County | $5,661 | $472 | $11,153 | 7.8% |
| Carroll County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 7.6% |
| Chicot County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 10.1% |
| Clark County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 8.3% |
| Clay County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 9.8% |
| Cleburne County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 8.2% |
| Cleveland County | $7,917 | $660 | $14,881 | 11.4% |
| Columbia County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 8.7% |
| Conway County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 9.1% |
| Craighead County | $8,063 | $672 | $14,671 | 10.6% |
| Crawford County | $8,063 | $672 | $14,671 | 11.2% |
| Crittenden County | $8,063 | $672 | $14,671 | 12.8% |
| Cross County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 9.1% |
| Dallas County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 7.9% |
| Desha County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 12.5% |
| Drew County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 9.1% |
| Faulkner County | $8,063 | $672 | $14,671 | 9.9% |
| Franklin County | $5,850 | $488 | $11,067 | 9.2% |
| Fulton County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 11.5% |
| Garland County | $8,063 | $672 | $14,671 | 11.5% |
| Grant County | $8,063 | $672 | $14,671 | 8.6% |
| Greene County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 8.4% |
| Hempstead County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 8.6% |
| Hot Spring County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 8.7% |
| Howard County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 9.5% |
| Independence County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 8.5% |
| Izard County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 9.5% |
| Jackson County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 10.2% |
| Jefferson County | $8,063 | $672 | $14,671 | 13.2% |
| Johnson County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 9.4% |
| Lafayette County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 9.4% |
| Lawrence County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 9.1% |
| Lee County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 12.0% |
| Lincoln County | $8,063 | $672 | $14,671 | 13.0% |
| Little River County | $8,063 | $672 | $14,671 | 11.0% |
| Logan County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 8.0% |
| Lonoke County | $8,063 | $672 | $14,671 | 9.4% |
| Madison County | $8,063 | $672 | $14,671 | 13.1% |
| Marion County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 9.5% |
| Miller County | $8,063 | $672 | $14,671 | 13.2% |
| Mississippi County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 8.9% |
| Monroe County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 8.2% |
| Montgomery County | $5,661 | $472 | $11,153 | 9.5% |
| Nevada County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 11.3% |
| Newton County | $5,661 | $472 | $11,153 | 8.6% |
| Ouachita County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 8.8% |
| Perry County | $8,063 | $672 | $14,671 | 10.8% |
| Phillips County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 11.1% |
| Pike County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 8.3% |
| Poinsett County | $8,063 | $672 | $14,671 | 13.2% |
| Polk County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 9.2% |
| Pope County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 8.0% |
| Prairie County | $5,661 | $472 | $11,153 | 7.0% |
| Pulaski County | $8,063 | $672 | $14,671 | 9.7% |
| Randolph County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 8.7% |
| Saline County | $8,063 | $672 | $14,671 | 8.7% |
| Scott County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 9.6% |
| Searcy County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 10.6% |
| Sebastian County | $5,217 | $435 | $9,644 | 7.3% |
| Sevier County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 9.0% |
| Sharp County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 9.4% |
| St. Francis County | $5,661 | $472 | $11,153 | 11.0% |
| Stone County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 10.7% |
| Union County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 8.4% |
| Van Buren County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 9.5% |
| Washington County | $8,063 | $672 | $14,671 | 9.6% |
| White County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 8.4% |
| Woodruff County | $5,661 | $472 | $11,153 | 8.9% |
| Yell County | $5,612 | $468 | $11,067 | 8.0% |
Click a column to sort it. The share compares care for one 4-year-old with the county's median family income. A dash means EPI publishes no income figure for that county.
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