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 $11,387 a year in the typical county in Colorado, or $949 a month, 41.6% more than the $8,040 for the typical county nationally. Care for a 4-year-old and an 8-year-old comes to about $20,968 a year. The cost of care for one preschooler is 13.0% 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 Colorado's 63 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 17.7% of the total in the typical county. In 1 county, care for one preschooler costs more than the family's housing.
Build a budget with your own child care cost, or see the rest of what Colorado costs.
Care for a 4-year-old costs most in Boulder County ($21,143), Denver County ($20,197) and Jefferson County ($19,917), and least in Bent County ($5,335), Otero County ($5,457) and Baca County ($5,457). Metro counties are priced at child care centers, other counties at home-based family child care.
| Adams County | $16,480 | $1,373 | $26,735 | 15.6% |
| Alamosa County | $9,873 | $823 | $20,519 | 15.7% |
| Arapahoe County | $17,064 | $1,422 | $47,742 | 14.1% |
| Archuleta County | $13,605 | $1,134 | $21,520 | 15.4% |
| Baca County | $5,457 | $455 | $10,914 | 9.6% |
| Bent County | $5,335 | $445 | $10,670 | 8.4% |
| Boulder County | $21,143 | $1,762 | $31,719 | 14.8% |
| Broomfield County | $16,100 | $1,342 | $23,461 | 10.2% |
| Chaffee County | $14,296 | $1,191 | $28,491 | 15.0% |
| Cheyenne County | $9,025 | $752 | $18,034 | 11.2% |
| Clear Creek County | $12,629 | $1,052 | $24,969 | 8.8% |
| Conejos County | $8,958 | $747 | $17,916 | 13.6% |
| Costilla County | $9,235 | $770 | $18,378 | 16.6% |
| Crowley County | $9,235 | $770 | $18,378 | 14.0% |
| Custer County | $8,927 | $744 | $16,081 | 11.1% |
| Delta County | $7,820 | $652 | $15,923 | 10.5% |
| Denver County | $20,197 | $1,683 | $29,930 | 16.9% |
| Dolores County | $8,736 | $728 | $17,487 | 11.1% |
| Douglas County | $16,811 | $1,401 | $25,785 | 10.2% |
| Eagle County | $13,490 | $1,124 | $24,537 | 10.9% |
| El Paso County | $16,185 | $1,349 | $25,158 | 15.5% |
| Elbert County | $15,224 | $1,269 | $26,258 | 10.8% |
| Fremont County | $9,034 | $753 | $15,437 | 11.3% |
| Garfield County | $14,643 | $1,220 | $26,067 | 15.0% |
| Gilpin County | $14,916 | $1,243 | $25,511 | 13.7% |
| Grand County | $16,422 | $1,369 | $33,094 | 14.0% |
| Gunnison County | $12,194 | $1,016 | $17,237 | 10.2% |
| Hinsdale County | $12,579 | $1,048 | $23,411 | 16.4% |
| Huerfano County | $8,736 | $728 | $17,487 | 12.8% |
| Jackson County | $10,803 | $900 | $19,840 | — |
| Jefferson County | $19,917 | $1,660 | $31,834 | 14.9% |
| Kiowa County | $9,025 | $752 | $18,034 | 11.6% |
| Kit Carson County | $10,914 | $910 | $21,009 | 13.4% |
| La Plata County | $12,833 | $1,069 | $23,281 | 11.8% |
| Lake County | $12,164 | $1,014 | $21,806 | 10.2% |
| Larimer County | $17,678 | $1,473 | $28,515 | 14.9% |
| Las Animas County | $8,356 | $696 | $15,333 | 11.9% |
| Lincoln County | $8,337 | $695 | $16,577 | 8.9% |
| Logan County | $8,273 | $689 | $16,486 | 10.4% |
| Mesa County | $11,023 | $919 | $19,227 | 12.5% |
| Mineral County | $8,273 | $689 | $16,486 | 13.0% |
| Moffat County | $11,376 | $948 | $22,022 | 12.1% |
| Montezuma County | $8,736 | $728 | $17,487 | 11.3% |
| Montrose County | $7,994 | $666 | $14,734 | 9.8% |
| Morgan County | $8,042 | $670 | $16,659 | 9.4% |
| Otero County | $5,457 | $455 | $10,914 | 7.7% |
| Ouray County | $14,253 | $1,188 | $25,867 | 14.7% |
| Park County | $15,379 | $1,282 | $24,641 | 13.1% |
| Phillips County | $11,397 | $950 | $19,683 | 13.3% |
| Pitkin County | $18,770 | $1,564 | $33,310 | 14.6% |
| Prowers County | $9,025 | $752 | $18,034 | 12.9% |
| Pueblo County | $11,631 | $969 | $18,041 | 15.1% |
| Rio Blanco County | $9,235 | $770 | $18,378 | 10.3% |
| Rio Grande County | $11,939 | $995 | $21,490 | 14.1% |
| Routt County | $14,609 | $1,217 | $26,530 | 11.6% |
| Saguache County | $8,273 | $689 | $16,486 | 13.5% |
| San Juan County | $13,140 | $1,095 | $23,895 | 15.1% |
| San Miguel County | $16,477 | $1,373 | $33,206 | 14.9% |
| Sedgwick County | $9,025 | $752 | $18,034 | 11.7% |
| Summit County | $18,770 | $1,564 | $33,310 | 14.5% |
| Teller County | $9,189 | $766 | $18,070 | 8.9% |
| Washington County | $10,558 | $880 | $21,112 | 13.1% |
| Weld County | $15,324 | $1,277 | $24,205 | 14.3% |
| Yuma County | $10,941 | $912 | $20,927 | 14.8% |
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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