How much does daycare cost in Michigan?

The 2022 figures are the U.S. Department of Labor's prices for the middle Michigan county, and all 83 counties count the same, so the many rural and Upper Peninsula counties weigh as much as Wayne or Oakland. The 2026 figure is the middle preschool rate among Michigan daycares that publish prices online, and every one of the 61 daycares that post a rate is a center.

Four years of price rises also sit between them. Posted preschool rates run about $115 a week above the 2022 county price. Too few Michigan daycares post a full-time infant or toddler rate for us to give a 2026 figure for those ages, so use the 2022 prices for babies and ask each daycare for its current rate.

In 2022, center infant care in Michigan ran from $107 a week in Tuscola County to $228 a week in Washtenaw County, which includes Ann Arbor. The three largest counties sit well above the middle: $177 a week in Wayne County, which includes Detroit, $196 in Oakland County and $179 in Macomb County.

Michigan's survey shows something you might not expect: home daycares cost more than centers in the middle county, $160 a week for infant care against $136 at a center. In Oakland County, home daycare infant care was $275 a week. Ask home daycares for their rates rather than assuming they cost less.

Michigan's Child Development and Care scholarship, run by the Michigan Department of Lifelong Education, Advancement, and Potential (MiLEAP), helps families with lower incomes pay for child care while they work or take part in approved activities. On DaycarePal, 123 Michigan daycares are listed as accepting child care assistance: see the Michigan daycares that accept it.

Head Start and Early Head Start are free for families who qualify, mostly by income, and serve children from birth to age 5. For 4-year-olds, ask your school district or intermediate school district about public pre-K and who qualifies.

Part-time schedules can bring the weekly cost down. When you compare daycares, ask about registration fees, sibling discounts and whether you pay for holidays and weeks your child is away.