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 $8,973 a year in the typical county in Maine, or $748 a month, 11.6% more than the $8,040 for the typical county nationally. Care for a 4-year-old and an 8-year-old comes to about $17,258 a year. The cost of care for one preschooler is 11.6% 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 Maine's 16 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 15.6% of the total in the typical county.
Build a budget with your own child care cost, or see the rest of what Maine costs.
Care for a 4-year-old costs most in Cumberland County ($15,898), York County ($13,586) and Penobscot County ($11,457), and least in Aroostook County ($6,894), Washington County ($8,213) and Hancock County ($8,213). Metro counties are priced at child care centers, other counties at home-based family child care.
| Androscoggin County | $10,443 | $870 | $19,264 | 12.5% |
| Aroostook County | $6,894 | $575 | $13,941 | 9.5% |
| Cumberland County | $15,898 | $1,325 | $25,529 | 13.2% |
| Franklin County | $8,821 | $735 | $17,844 | 11.0% |
| Hancock County | $8,213 | $684 | $16,729 | 9.2% |
| Kennebec County | $8,775 | $731 | $15,467 | 10.2% |
| Knox County | $9,125 | $760 | $17,280 | 9.8% |
| Lincoln County | $9,125 | $760 | $17,236 | 10.0% |
| Oxford County | $8,517 | $710 | $16,126 | 11.5% |
| Penobscot County | $11,457 | $955 | $23,218 | 12.9% |
| Piscataquis County | $8,415 | $701 | $16,729 | 12.9% |
| Sagadahoc County | $11,457 | $955 | $19,974 | 12.0% |
| Somerset County | $8,415 | $701 | $16,729 | 11.7% |
| Waldo County | $9,125 | $760 | $17,280 | 11.1% |
| Washington County | $8,213 | $684 | $16,729 | 11.9% |
| York County | $13,586 | $1,132 | $24,495 | 13.2% |
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.
Alabama · Alaska · Arizona · Arkansas · California · Colorado · Connecticut · Delaware · District of Columbia · Florida · Georgia · Hawaii · Idaho · Illinois · Indiana · Iowa · Kansas · Kentucky · Louisiana · Maine · Maryland · Massachusetts · Michigan · Minnesota · Mississippi · Missouri · Montana · Nebraska · Nevada · New Hampshire · New Jersey · New Mexico · New York · North Carolina · North Dakota · Ohio · Oklahoma · Oregon · Pennsylvania · Rhode Island · South Carolina · South Dakota · Tennessee · Texas · Utah · Vermont · Virginia · Washington · West Virginia · Wisconsin · Wyoming
Cost of living · Income tax · Child care costs
Run the numbersTake-home pay in Maine · What a salary is worth in Maine · How much rent you can afford · What a car costs in Maine