The cost of care, in context
What does daycare cost in King County?
See county-level prices by age and care setting, then put together a budget for your family.
Your county’s childcare prices
King County, Washington
- Infant · center (0–23 months)
- $590per week · CPI-adjusted estimate2022 official data: $478 / week$404 / week · Washington typical county
39 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)
- $481per week · CPI-adjusted estimate2022 official data: $390 / week$307 / week · Washington typical county
39 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)
- $481per week · CPI-adjusted estimate2022 official data: $390 / week$307 / week · Washington typical county
39 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)
- $428per week · CPI-adjusted estimate2022 official data: $347 / week$304 / week · Washington typical county
39 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 | $478 | $24,879 | $590 |
| Toddler · center 24–35 months | $390 | $20,264 | $481 |
| Preschool · center 36–54 months | $390 | $20,264 | $481 |
| School-age · center School-year arrangement | $289 | Not annualized | $356 |
| Infant · home-based 0–23 months | $347 | $18,040 | $428 |
| Toddler · home-based 24–35 months | $310 | $16,112 | $382 |
| Preschool · home-based 36–54 months | $310 | $16,112 | $382 |
| School-age · home-based School-year arrangement | $245 | Not annualized | $303 |
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