CHILD CARE · 18TH MOST EXPENSIVE OF 51

How much does child care cost in Oregon?

What care costs for a preschooler and for two children, county by county, and how it compares with what families here earn.

The short answer

Full-time care for a 4-year-old costs about $9,506 a year in the typical county in Oregon, or $792 a month, 18.2% more than the $8,040 for the typical county nationally. Care for a 4-year-old and an 8-year-old comes to about $17,548 a year. The cost of care for one preschooler is 12.4% of median family income in the typical county.

Affordability

Against what families earn.

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 Oregon's 36 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 Oregon costs.

Where it costs most

The county matters.

Care for a 4-year-old costs most in Multnomah County ($18,059), Washington County ($17,041) and Clackamas County ($15,785), and least in Wheeler County ($9,125), Union County ($9,125) and Tillamook County ($9,125). Metro counties are priced at child care centers, other counties at home-based family child care.

Every county

All 36 counties.

Show the table
Baker County$9,125$760$17,54811.5%
Benton County$14,853$1,238$20,13613.1%
Clackamas County$15,785$1,315$21,57713.3%
Clatsop County$10,704$892$20,07412.0%
Columbia County$12,143$1,012$16,86312.5%
Coos County$9,531$794$18,36112.4%
Crook County$9,125$760$17,54810.0%
Curry County$9,578$798$18,45313.3%
Deschutes County$14,707$1,226$19,75513.8%
Douglas County$9,459$788$18,21613.0%
Gilliam County$9,125$760$17,54811.7%
Grant County$9,125$760$17,54813.1%
Harney County$9,125$760$17,54814.2%
Hood River County$9,827$819$18,9529.4%
Jackson County$11,643$970$16,89713.4%
Jefferson County$9,125$760$17,54811.6%
Josephine County$11,619$968$16,86016.2%
Klamath County$9,125$760$17,54812.7%
Lake County$9,125$760$17,54811.1%
Lane County$14,420$1,202$19,62016.4%
Lincoln County$9,246$771$17,79012.1%
Linn County$10,620$885$15,28012.1%
Malheur County$9,125$760$17,54813.8%
Marion County$11,519$960$16,70213.1%
Morrow County$9,125$760$17,54811.5%
Multnomah County$18,059$1,505$24,84015.9%
Polk County$10,682$890$15,37811.1%
Sherman County$9,125$760$17,54811.8%
Tillamook County$9,125$760$17,54811.8%
Umatilla County$9,226$769$17,75011.6%
Union County$9,125$760$17,54811.9%
Wallowa County$9,480$790$18,25912.1%
Wasco County$9,733$811$18,76512.2%
Washington County$17,041$1,420$23,48213.9%
Wheeler County$9,125$760$17,54815.2%
Yamhill County$12,976$1,081$18,31212.8%

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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More about Oregon

Cost of living · Income tax · Child care costs

Metro areasPortland, OR

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Where this comes from
Child care costs
Economic Policy Institute, Family Budget Calculator, 2026 edition, by county. EPI builds them mainly from the Department of Labor's National Database of Childcare Prices.
What is priced
One child is a 4-year-old in full-time care. Two children add an 8-year-old in before- and after-school care for nine months and full-time care for two summer months.
Affordability
HHS's 7% of family income benchmark, from its 2016 Child Care and Development Fund rule. Counties count once each; figures are medians across them.
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