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 $12,416 a year in the typical county in California, or $1,035 a month, 1.5 times the $8,040 for the typical county nationally. Care for a 4-year-old and an 8-year-old comes to about $23,506 a year. The cost of care for one preschooler is 13.8% 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 California's 58 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 17.3% of the total in the typical county.
Build a budget with your own child care cost, or see the rest of what California costs.
Care for a 4-year-old costs most in San Francisco County ($29,020), San Mateo County ($26,595) and Marin County ($26,362), and least in Kings County ($9,284), Madera County ($9,484) and Tulare County ($9,618). Metro counties are priced at child care centers, other counties at home-based family child care.
| Alameda County | $24,840 | $2,070 | $51,257 | 16.0% |
| Alpine County | $12,136 | $1,011 | $21,996 | 10.1% |
| Amador County | $11,807 | $984 | $23,423 | 11.6% |
| Butte County | $10,895 | $908 | $16,167 | 12.1% |
| Calaveras County | $12,510 | $1,043 | $25,328 | 13.3% |
| Colusa County | $12,524 | $1,044 | $25,177 | 14.0% |
| Contra Costa County | $23,150 | $1,929 | $49,274 | 15.9% |
| Del Norte County | $11,877 | $990 | $24,220 | 14.1% |
| El Dorado County | $13,849 | $1,154 | $20,942 | 10.7% |
| Fresno County | $12,347 | $1,029 | $18,976 | 15.2% |
| Glenn County | $10,890 | $908 | $21,691 | 13.4% |
| Humboldt County | $12,419 | $1,035 | $23,236 | 14.9% |
| Imperial County | $9,807 | $817 | $18,793 | 15.2% |
| Inyo County | $12,419 | $1,035 | $23,256 | 13.8% |
| Kern County | $10,380 | $865 | $15,923 | 13.8% |
| Kings County | $9,284 | $774 | $14,503 | 12.4% |
| Lake County | $11,854 | $988 | $23,149 | 14.7% |
| Lassen County | $11,858 | $988 | $24,215 | 15.2% |
| Los Angeles County | $13,687 | $1,141 | $25,767 | 13.8% |
| Madera County | $9,484 | $790 | $15,249 | 11.5% |
| Marin County | $26,362 | $2,197 | $53,062 | 13.8% |
| Mariposa County | $11,903 | $992 | $24,259 | 14.5% |
| Mendocino County | $12,208 | $1,017 | $22,921 | 15.0% |
| Merced County | $10,040 | $837 | $14,617 | 13.8% |
| Modoc County | $10,779 | $898 | $21,684 | 17.1% |
| Mono County | $15,818 | $1,318 | $31,669 | 14.4% |
| Monterey County | $12,023 | $1,002 | $18,142 | 12.0% |
| Napa County | $14,492 | $1,208 | $29,231 | 11.2% |
| Nevada County | $12,573 | $1,048 | $26,045 | 11.8% |
| Orange County | $15,442 | $1,287 | $29,962 | 12.0% |
| Placer County | $14,154 | $1,180 | $22,300 | 10.3% |
| Plumas County | $11,858 | $988 | $24,215 | 13.4% |
| Riverside County | $11,481 | $957 | $18,044 | 11.4% |
| Sacramento County | $15,847 | $1,321 | $29,051 | 15.3% |
| San Benito County | $15,451 | $1,288 | $35,259 | 13.0% |
| San Bernardino County | $10,524 | $877 | $16,326 | 11.7% |
| San Diego County | $14,759 | $1,230 | $28,078 | 12.5% |
| San Francisco County | $29,020 | $2,418 | $55,643 | 17.5% |
| San Joaquin County | $11,263 | $939 | $17,099 | 11.4% |
| San Luis Obispo County | $16,574 | $1,381 | $30,691 | 14.2% |
| San Mateo County | $26,595 | $2,216 | $53,304 | 14.4% |
| Santa Barbara County | $14,728 | $1,227 | $21,725 | 13.5% |
| Santa Clara County | $24,950 | $2,079 | $51,567 | 13.7% |
| Santa Cruz County | $15,550 | $1,296 | $24,203 | 11.8% |
| Shasta County | $13,040 | $1,087 | $23,855 | 14.3% |
| Sierra County | $10,779 | $898 | $21,684 | 14.7% |
| Siskiyou County | $11,819 | $985 | $23,059 | 16.5% |
| Solano County | $12,989 | $1,082 | $20,216 | 11.4% |
| Sonoma County | $12,412 | $1,034 | $25,346 | 10.0% |
| Stanislaus County | $10,405 | $867 | $15,500 | 11.7% |
| Sutter County | $14,084 | $1,174 | $25,493 | 16.0% |
| Tehama County | $11,109 | $926 | $21,636 | 14.4% |
| Trinity County | $12,016 | $1,001 | $24,288 | 16.3% |
| Tulare County | $9,618 | $802 | $13,995 | 13.5% |
| Tuolumne County | $12,605 | $1,050 | $23,589 | 13.4% |
| Ventura County | $18,200 | $1,517 | $43,798 | 14.8% |
| Yolo County | $18,969 | $1,581 | $33,976 | 16.1% |
| Yuba County | $10,836 | $903 | $17,640 | 13.1% |
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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