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 $12,882 a year in the typical county in Vermont, or $1,073 a month, 1.6 times the $8,040 for the typical county nationally. Care for a 4-year-old and an 8-year-old comes to about $23,727 a year. The cost of care for one preschooler is 13.5% 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 Vermont'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 17.3% of the total in the typical county. In 1 county, 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 Vermont costs.
Care for a 4-year-old costs most in Chittenden County ($22,638), Grand Isle County ($21,148) and Franklin County ($17,107), and least in Windham County ($10,552), Orleans County ($11,451) and Bennington County ($11,746). Metro counties are priced at child care centers, other counties at home-based family child care.
| Addison County | $13,013 | $1,084 | $23,937 | 12.1% |
| Bennington County | $11,746 | $979 | $20,994 | 11.6% |
| Caledonia County | $12,077 | $1,006 | $22,641 | 13.5% |
| Chittenden County | $22,638 | $1,887 | $39,203 | 17.8% |
| Essex County | $12,319 | $1,027 | $23,001 | 18.8% |
| Franklin County | $17,107 | $1,426 | $32,179 | 17.4% |
| Grand Isle County | $21,148 | $1,762 | $37,527 | 18.2% |
| Lamoille County | $13,610 | $1,134 | $24,578 | 15.0% |
| Orange County | $13,274 | $1,106 | $24,122 | 13.9% |
| Orleans County | $11,451 | $954 | $21,072 | 13.4% |
| Rutland County | $11,845 | $987 | $21,812 | 13.3% |
| Washington County | $13,293 | $1,108 | $24,122 | 13.0% |
| Windham County | $10,552 | $879 | $20,090 | 11.8% |
| Windsor County | $12,750 | $1,063 | $23,517 | 12.5% |
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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