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 $9,429 a year in the typical county in Ohio, or $786 a month, 17.3% more than the $8,040 for the typical county nationally. Care for a 4-year-old and an 8-year-old comes to about $17,898 a year. The cost of care for one preschooler is 11.9% 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 Ohio's 88 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 18.5% of the total in the typical county. In 12 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 Ohio costs.
Care for a 4-year-old costs most in Belmont County ($14,113), Butler County ($14,113) and Clermont County ($14,113), and least in Wyandot County ($8,576), Williams County ($8,576) and Washington County ($8,576). Metro counties are priced at child care centers, other counties at home-based family child care.
| Adams County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 13.1% |
| Allen County | $8,638 | $720 | $14,722 | 10.7% |
| Ashland County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 10.5% |
| Ashtabula County | $9,429 | $786 | $17,898 | 13.5% |
| Athens County | $10,646 | $887 | $20,075 | 12.9% |
| Auglaize County | $9,429 | $786 | $17,898 | 10.0% |
| Belmont County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 18.7% |
| Brown County | $8,638 | $720 | $14,722 | 10.5% |
| Butler County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 13.9% |
| Carroll County | $8,638 | $720 | $14,722 | 11.6% |
| Champaign County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 9.9% |
| Clark County | $10,646 | $887 | $18,311 | 13.9% |
| Clermont County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 13.5% |
| Clinton County | $9,429 | $786 | $17,898 | 11.3% |
| Columbiana County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 11.0% |
| Coshocton County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 12.4% |
| Crawford County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 12.6% |
| Cuyahoga County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 16.2% |
| Darke County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 10.5% |
| Defiance County | $10,646 | $887 | $20,075 | 12.2% |
| Delaware County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 9.2% |
| Erie County | $9,429 | $786 | $17,898 | 10.7% |
| Fairfield County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 13.5% |
| Fayette County | $9,429 | $786 | $17,898 | 12.7% |
| Franklin County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 14.8% |
| Fulton County | $8,638 | $720 | $14,722 | 9.9% |
| Gallia County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 12.3% |
| Geauga County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 11.7% |
| Greene County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 12.5% |
| Guernsey County | $9,429 | $786 | $17,898 | 13.6% |
| Hamilton County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 14.4% |
| Hancock County | $10,646 | $887 | $20,075 | 11.8% |
| Hardin County | $9,429 | $786 | $17,898 | 12.0% |
| Harrison County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 11.9% |
| Henry County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 9.5% |
| Highland County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 11.8% |
| Hocking County | $8,638 | $720 | $14,722 | 11.5% |
| Holmes County | $10,646 | $887 | $20,075 | 11.9% |
| Huron County | $9,429 | $786 | $17,898 | 11.7% |
| Jackson County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 12.1% |
| Jefferson County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 19.5% |
| Knox County | $10,646 | $887 | $20,075 | 12.2% |
| Lake County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 14.0% |
| Lawrence County | $10,646 | $887 | $18,311 | 15.9% |
| Licking County | $10,646 | $887 | $18,311 | 10.6% |
| Logan County | $9,429 | $786 | $17,898 | 11.1% |
| Lorain County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 15.1% |
| Lucas County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 17.4% |
| Madison County | $10,646 | $887 | $18,311 | 10.5% |
| Mahoning County | $10,646 | $887 | $18,311 | 14.2% |
| Marion County | $10,646 | $887 | $20,075 | 14.5% |
| Medina County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 12.5% |
| Meigs County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 14.2% |
| Mercer County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 8.6% |
| Miami County | $8,638 | $720 | $14,722 | 9.1% |
| Monroe County | $10,646 | $887 | $20,075 | 15.3% |
| Montgomery County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 16.6% |
| Morgan County | $9,429 | $786 | $17,898 | 13.9% |
| Morrow County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 17.6% |
| Muskingum County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 11.4% |
| Noble County | $9,429 | $786 | $17,898 | 12.8% |
| Ottawa County | $10,646 | $887 | $18,311 | 11.0% |
| Paulding County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 10.2% |
| Perry County | $10,646 | $887 | $18,311 | 14.0% |
| Pickaway County | $8,638 | $720 | $14,722 | 9.7% |
| Pike County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 12.9% |
| Portage County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 14.8% |
| Preble County | $9,429 | $786 | $17,898 | 11.2% |
| Putnam County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 8.6% |
| Richland County | $8,638 | $720 | $14,722 | 11.5% |
| Ross County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 10.6% |
| Sandusky County | $9,429 | $786 | $17,898 | 11.6% |
| Scioto County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 13.0% |
| Seneca County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 10.9% |
| Shelby County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 9.6% |
| Stark County | $10,646 | $887 | $18,311 | 12.7% |
| Summit County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 15.3% |
| Trumbull County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 19.6% |
| Tuscarawas County | $9,429 | $786 | $17,898 | 11.8% |
| Union County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 11.4% |
| Van Wert County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 10.7% |
| Vinton County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 11.7% |
| Warren County | $14,113 | $1,176 | $23,238 | 11.3% |
| Washington County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 11.0% |
| Wayne County | $9,429 | $786 | $17,898 | 11.0% |
| Williams County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 11.1% |
| Wood County | $10,646 | $887 | $18,311 | 10.6% |
| Wyandot County | $8,576 | $715 | $15,884 | 10.2% |
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.
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