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 $12,167 a year in the typical county in New York, or $1,014 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 $23,968 a year. The cost of care for one preschooler is 13.7% 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 New York's 62 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 19.7% of the total in the typical county. In 2 counties, 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 New York costs.
Care for a 4-year-old costs most in Nassau County ($17,824), Putnam County ($17,824) and Rockland County ($17,824), and least in Wyoming County ($10,646), Sullivan County ($10,646) and Steuben County ($10,646). Metro counties are priced at child care centers, other counties at home-based family child care.
| Albany County | $15,452 | $1,288 | $29,139 | 13.4% |
| Allegany County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 13.3% |
| Bronx County | $15,756 | $1,313 | $29,444 | 26.6% |
| Broome County | $12,167 | $1,014 | $23,968 | 14.6% |
| Cattaraugus County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 14.2% |
| Cayuga County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 12.5% |
| Chautauqua County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 14.0% |
| Chemung County | $12,167 | $1,014 | $23,968 | 14.9% |
| Chenango County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 13.8% |
| Clinton County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 11.8% |
| Columbia County | $12,045 | $1,004 | $22,995 | 11.5% |
| Cortland County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 12.5% |
| Delaware County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 13.9% |
| Dutchess County | $15,452 | $1,288 | $29,139 | 12.6% |
| Erie County | $15,513 | $1,293 | $28,592 | 16.1% |
| Essex County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 12.5% |
| Franklin County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 14.0% |
| Fulton County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 14.5% |
| Genesee County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 11.9% |
| Greene County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 11.0% |
| Hamilton County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 12.2% |
| Herkimer County | $12,167 | $1,014 | $23,968 | 13.8% |
| Jefferson County | $12,167 | $1,014 | $23,968 | 15.1% |
| Kings County | $15,756 | $1,313 | $29,444 | 18.1% |
| Lewis County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 13.6% |
| Livingston County | $12,167 | $1,014 | $23,968 | 13.0% |
| Madison County | $12,167 | $1,014 | $23,968 | 12.9% |
| Monroe County | $15,513 | $1,293 | $28,592 | 15.5% |
| Montgomery County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 12.4% |
| Nassau County | $17,824 | $1,485 | $33,033 | 10.8% |
| New York County | $15,756 | $1,313 | $29,444 | 11.1% |
| Niagara County | $12,167 | $1,014 | $23,968 | 13.8% |
| Oneida County | $12,167 | $1,014 | $23,968 | 13.8% |
| Onondaga County | $15,513 | $1,293 | $28,592 | 15.7% |
| Ontario County | $15,513 | $1,293 | $28,592 | 15.4% |
| Orange County | $15,452 | $1,288 | $29,139 | 13.6% |
| Orleans County | $12,167 | $1,014 | $23,968 | 14.7% |
| Oswego County | $12,167 | $1,014 | $23,968 | 14.4% |
| Otsego County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 12.6% |
| Putnam County | $17,824 | $1,485 | $33,033 | 12.3% |
| Queens County | $15,756 | $1,313 | $29,444 | 16.4% |
| Rensselaer County | $15,513 | $1,293 | $28,592 | 13.9% |
| Richmond County | $15,756 | $1,313 | $29,444 | 13.4% |
| Rockland County | $17,824 | $1,485 | $33,033 | 13.7% |
| Saratoga County | $15,452 | $1,288 | $29,139 | 12.3% |
| Schenectady County | $15,513 | $1,293 | $28,592 | 15.7% |
| Schoharie County | $12,167 | $1,014 | $23,968 | 13.9% |
| Schuyler County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 12.5% |
| Seneca County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 12.2% |
| St. Lawrence County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 13.2% |
| Steuben County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 12.3% |
| Suffolk County | $17,824 | $1,485 | $33,033 | 12.1% |
| Sullivan County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 12.1% |
| Tioga County | $12,167 | $1,014 | $23,968 | 14.0% |
| Tompkins County | $15,513 | $1,293 | $28,592 | 13.9% |
| Ulster County | $15,452 | $1,288 | $29,139 | 14.0% |
| Warren County | $15,513 | $1,293 | $28,592 | 15.1% |
| Washington County | $12,167 | $1,014 | $23,968 | 14.4% |
| Wayne County | $12,167 | $1,014 | $23,968 | 12.8% |
| Westchester County | $17,824 | $1,485 | $33,033 | 11.6% |
| Wyoming County | $10,646 | $887 | $21,292 | 12.5% |
| Yates County | $12,167 | $1,014 | $23,968 | 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.
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
Metro areasNew York, NY · Buffalo, NY · Rochester, NY · Albany, NY · Poughkeepsie, NY · Syracuse, NY
Run the numbersTake-home pay in New York · What a salary is worth in New York · How much rent you can afford · What a car costs in New York