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 $16,425 a year in the typical county in Massachusetts, or $1,369 a month, 2.0 times the $8,040 for the typical county nationally. Care for a 4-year-old and an 8-year-old comes to about $29,657 a year. The cost of care for one preschooler is 14.7% 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 Massachusetts's 14 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 20.5% of the total in the typical county.
Build a budget with your own child care cost, or see the rest of what Massachusetts costs.
Care for a 4-year-old costs most in Norfolk County ($25,550), Suffolk County ($21,292) and Essex County ($18,858), and least in Hampshire County ($14,007), Hampden County ($14,007) and Franklin County ($14,007). Metro counties are priced at child care centers, other counties at home-based family child care.
| Barnstable County | $16,425 | $1,369 | $29,200 | 13.2% |
| Berkshire County | $14,007 | $1,167 | $26,329 | 14.7% |
| Bristol County | $16,425 | $1,369 | $29,200 | 15.3% |
| Dukes County | $15,208 | $1,267 | $30,417 | 10.7% |
| Essex County | $18,858 | $1,572 | $31,938 | 15.1% |
| Franklin County | $14,007 | $1,167 | $26,329 | 14.6% |
| Hampden County | $14,007 | $1,167 | $26,329 | 15.6% |
| Hampshire County | $14,007 | $1,167 | $26,329 | 12.1% |
| Middlesex County | $18,858 | $1,572 | $31,938 | 11.7% |
| Nantucket County | $15,208 | $1,267 | $30,417 | 10.0% |
| Norfolk County | $25,550 | $2,129 | $36,196 | 15.6% |
| Plymouth County | $16,425 | $1,369 | $29,200 | 12.3% |
| Suffolk County | $21,292 | $1,774 | $34,916 | 19.3% |
| Worcester County | $17,338 | $1,445 | $30,113 | 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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