Santa Barbara County, CA
Infant daycare in Santa Barbara County, CA costs $453 per week ($23,532 per year) for center-based care, and $363 per week for family daycare. With a median household income of $92,332, the childcare burden is 25.5% of income, well above the 7% threshold HUD considers affordable. This is above the national median of $174/wk.
Cost Breakdown by Age Group
| Age Group | Center/Wk | Center/Yr | Family/Wk | Family/Yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Infant (0-1) | $453 | $23,532 | $363 | $18,877 |
| Toddler (1-2) | $309 | $16,070 | $305 | $15,883 |
| Preschool (3-5) | $242 | $12,590 | $286 | $14,891 |
| School-Age (6+) | $115 | $5,981 | $207 | $10,757 |
Santa Barbara County Childcare FAQ
Center-based infant care in Santa Barbara County costs $453 per week ($23,532 per year). Family-based infant care costs $363 per week ($18,877 per year). Data from the DOL National Database of Childcare Prices.
The Childcare Burden Index for Santa Barbara County is 25.5%, rated "Severe". This means a family earning the median income of $92,332 would spend about 25.5% of their income on infant center-based childcare.
The national median weekly infant center care cost is $174. Santa Barbara County at $453/wk is 161% above the national median. Annualized, infant center care in Santa Barbara County costs $23,532 per year.
In Santa Barbara County, CA, the most affordable option is typically family-based (home) daycare. Infant family daycare costs $363/wk compared to $453/wk for center-based. For preschool-age children, family daycare is $286/wk vs $242/wk at a center. School-age after-care is the least expensive category at $207/wk (family) or $115/wk (center).
Read the California guide
Statewide cost trends, subsidies, tax credits, daycare alternatives, and how to afford daycare in California.
Daycare Cost in California 2026: A Complete Guide for Parents →More Counties in CA
Childcare costs are weekly median prices from the DOL. Burden Index = annual infant center care / median household income.
For this entity, the underlying data on this page comes from the DOL National Database of Childcare Prices. The breakdown above is the federal record; the paragraphs below add the per-entity context that makes the headline numbers usable for a real decision rather than just a data lookup.
Every number on this page links back to the DOL National Database of Childcare Prices; the methodology page describes the inputs, refresh cadence, and known limitations of the underlying data product.
Practical use of this page is in combination with the comparison and ranking pages elsewhere on the site, which surface the same data for this entity’s peers within U.S. counties. A single-entity reading without peer context can be misleading when an entity is an outlier on one axis but typical on another.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor Women’s Bureau Childcare Prices, 2026.