The cost of care, in context
What does daycare cost in Orange County?
See county-level prices by age and care setting, then put together a budget for your family.
Your county’s childcare prices
Orange County, California
- Infant · center (0–23 months)
- $486per week · CPI-adjusted estimate2022 official data: $394 / week$436 / week · California typical county
58 counties with data
Higher than the state median$214 / week · U.S. typical county
2,661 counties with data
Higher than the national median - Toddler · center (24–35 months)
- $347per week · CPI-adjusted estimate2022 official data: $282 / week$268 / week · California typical county
58 counties with data
Higher than the state median$189 / week · U.S. typical county
2,663 counties with data
Higher than the national median - Preschool · center (36–54 months)
- $313per week · CPI-adjusted estimate2022 official data: $254 / week$235 / week · California typical county
58 counties with data
Higher than the state median$178 / week · U.S. typical county
2,670 counties with data
Higher than the national median - Infant · home-based (0–23 months)
- $370per week · CPI-adjusted estimate2022 official data: $300 / week$304 / week · California typical county
58 counties with data
Higher than the state median$177 / week · U.S. typical county
2,584 counties with data
Higher than the national median
Compare local prices with a typical county, then ask providers for current quotes.
Prices by age and care setting
| Age & setting | 2022 weekly | 2022 annual equivalent | September 2026 weekly estimate |
|---|---|---|---|
| Infant · center 0–23 months | $394 | $20,473 | $486 |
| Toddler · center 24–35 months | $282 | $14,647 | $347 |
| Preschool · center 36–54 months | $254 | $13,200 | $313 |
| School-age · center School-year arrangement | $239 | Not annualized | $294 |
| Infant · home-based 0–23 months | $300 | $15,599 | $370 |
| Toddler · home-based 24–35 months | $279 | $14,528 | $345 |
| Preschool · home-based 36–54 months | $279 | $14,528 | $345 |
| School-age · home-based School-year arrangement | $196 | Not annualized | $241 |
What this means
Use the right age and setting.
Full-day infant care and school-age arrangements are different services. Compare like with like, and ask each provider what their price includes.
The 2022 values are DOL’s county-level estimates, which may use shared survey areas, standardization or imputation. The September 2026 column applies national childcare inflation to those values. It does not measure current local prices.
Plan a childcare budget
Historical infant-center prices
Sources & data dates
- Prices
- DOL Women’s Bureau NDCP, study year 2022. County estimates from state market-rate surveys; some values are standardized or imputed.
- Inflation
- BLS day care and preschool CPI-U (not seasonally adjusted), September 2026. These are adjusted estimates, not new local observations.
- Income & population
- Census ACS fields distributed in the DOL workbook’s 2022 rows: MFI (family income, DP03) and TOTALPOP (DP05). Income share uses 2022 prices only.
- Retrieved
- 2026-11-03 (DOL); 2026-11-03 (BLS)
- Method
- Units, typical-county benchmarks, ZIP matching and limitations