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 $10,664 a year in the typical county in Maryland, or $889 a month, 32.6% more than the $8,040 for the typical county nationally. Care for a 4-year-old and an 8-year-old comes to about $20,555 a year. The cost of care for one preschooler is 10.1% 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 Maryland's 24 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 19.5% of the total in the typical county.
Build a budget with your own child care cost, or see the rest of what Maryland costs.
Care for a 4-year-old costs most in Howard County ($20,422), Montgomery County ($20,422) and Baltimore County ($15,547), and least in Dorchester County ($7,711), Kent County ($7,763) and Caroline County ($7,763). Metro counties are priced at child care centers, other counties at home-based family child care.
| Allegany County | $9,767 | $814 | $19,121 | 13.6% |
| Anne Arundel County | $14,039 | $1,170 | $27,631 | 9.9% |
| Baltimore city | $13,157 | $1,096 | $24,674 | 17.9% |
| Baltimore County | $15,547 | $1,296 | $29,700 | 13.7% |
| Calvert County | $13,866 | $1,156 | $27,294 | 9.2% |
| Caroline County | $7,763 | $647 | $15,165 | 9.7% |
| Carroll County | $13,866 | $1,156 | $27,294 | 9.9% |
| Cecil County | $10,664 | $889 | $20,555 | 9.9% |
| Charles County | $13,866 | $1,156 | $27,294 | 10.2% |
| Dorchester County | $7,711 | $643 | $15,062 | 9.6% |
| Frederick County | $14,789 | $1,232 | $28,244 | 10.5% |
| Garrett County | $8,309 | $692 | $15,743 | 9.8% |
| Harford County | $14,789 | $1,232 | $28,244 | 11.3% |
| Howard County | $20,422 | $1,702 | $38,835 | 11.7% |
| Kent County | $7,763 | $647 | $15,165 | 7.4% |
| Montgomery County | $20,422 | $1,702 | $38,835 | 12.9% |
| Prince George's County | $14,039 | $1,170 | $27,631 | 11.9% |
| Queen Anne's County | $10,664 | $889 | $20,555 | 8.2% |
| Somerset County | $9,190 | $766 | $17,303 | 13.1% |
| St. Mary's County | $10,664 | $889 | $20,555 | 8.0% |
| Talbot County | $9,508 | $792 | $17,381 | 8.9% |
| Washington County | $10,664 | $889 | $20,555 | 11.5% |
| Wicomico County | $9,190 | $766 | $17,303 | 10.2% |
| Worcester County | $9,767 | $814 | $19,121 | 9.5% |
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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