How much does daycare cost in Texas?

The two figures measure different things. The 2022 figure is the U.S. Department of Labor's price for the middle Texas county, built from state surveys of what providers charge; every county counts the same, so the many small rural counties pull it down. The 2026 figure is the middle rate among Texas daycares that publish their prices online, and those are mostly centers (94.8% of the 364 that post a rate), many of them in the big metro areas.

Prices have also risen since 2022. Taken together, posted infant rates run about $110 a week above the 2022 county price, and posted preschool rates about $67 a week 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.

School-age care is the exception: the posted rate ($115 a week) sits below the 2022 figure ($126). Ask whether a school-age rate covers full days in the summer or only the hours before and after school.

Where you live in Texas moves the price more than the type of care does. In 2022, center infant care ran from $113 a week in Coke County to $229 a week in Travis County, which includes Austin. The biggest metro counties sit in the upper part of that range: $185 a week in Harris County, $194 in Dallas County and $199 in Tarrant County.

Home daycares cost a little less. The middle Texas county charged $131 a week for infant care in a home daycare in 2022, against $144 at a center.

Texas helps families with low incomes pay for child care through the Texas Workforce Commission's child care program, run by the local workforce boards. On DaycarePal, 5,958 Texas daycares are listed as accepting child care assistance: see the Texas 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. Texas school districts also offer free pre-K to 4-year-olds who qualify; ask your district.

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