How much does daycare cost in Oregon?

The two numbers measure different things. The 2022 figure is the U.S. Department of Labor's price for the middle Oregon county, and every county counts the same, so the many rural counties at the low end set it. The 2026 figure is the middle rate among Oregon daycares that post prices online, and nearly all of them are centers (97.9% of the 140 that post a rate), many in the Portland area.

Four years of price rises sit between the two as well. Posted infant rates run about $265 a week above the 2022 county price, toddler rates about $234 above it and preschool rates about $92 above it. Use the 2022 figures to compare counties, and the posted rates as a guide to what a center with a website asks today.

County matters a great deal in Oregon. In 2022, center infant care cost $197 a week in Baker County and many other rural counties, and $407 a week in Multnomah County, which includes Portland. The suburban counties next door were close behind: $384 a week in Washington County and $358 in Clackamas County.

Home daycares cost less, most of all in the Portland area. The middle Oregon county charged $173 a week for infant care in a home daycare against $197 at a center, and in Multnomah County a home charged $250 against $407 at a center.

Oregon's Employment Related Day Care program, run by the Department of Early Learning and Care, helps families who work or go to school pay for child care. On DaycarePal, 170 Oregon daycares are listed as accepting child care assistance: see the Oregon 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. The Department of Early Learning and Care also runs Preschool Promise, free preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds in families who qualify.

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