How much does daycare cost in Georgia?

These two numbers come from different places. The 2022 figure is the U.S. Department of Labor's price for the middle Georgia county, and every one of the 159 counties counts the same, so the many rural counties set the middle. The 2026 figure is the middle rate among Georgia daycares that publish prices on their websites. All 81 of them are centers, and centers usually charge more than home daycares.

Four years of price rises sit between the two as well. Posted infant rates run about $142 a week above the 2022 county price, and posted preschool rates about $108 a week above it. Use the 2022 figures to compare one county with another, and the posted rates as a guide to what a center with a website asks today.

Before- and after-school care looks low in the 2022 survey, at $55 a week for a center, most likely because it often covers only a few hours a day. The posted school-age rate is $114 a week; ask whether it includes full days in the summer.

In Georgia, the county you live in moves the price a lot. Most counties share the middle figure of $108 a week for center infant care in 2022. Metro Atlanta costs the most: Fulton, Gwinnett and Cobb counties, along with Rockdale and several neighbors, all show $205 a week. Chatham County, which includes Savannah, shows the lowest figure, $102 a week.

Home daycares cost a little less in most of the state. The middle Georgia county charged $103 a week for infant care in a home daycare in 2022, against $108 at a center; in the metro Atlanta counties, the gap was wider, $163 against $205.

Georgia's Childcare and Parent Services program, known as CAPS and run by the Georgia Department of Early Care and Learning, helps families with lower incomes pay for child care while they work or go to school. On DaycarePal, 2,747 Georgia daycares are listed as accepting child care assistance: see the Georgia daycares that accept it.

Georgia's Pre-K Program is free for 4-year-olds who live in Georgia, whatever the family's income, and classes run in both child care centers and public schools. Head Start and Early Head Start are also free for families who qualify, mostly by income, and serve children from birth to age 5.

Home daycares and part-time schedules can also cost less. When you compare daycares, ask about registration and supply fees, sibling discounts and whether you pay for weeks your child is away.