Childcare Cost in Louisiana (2026)
Full-time infant care at a licensed center averages about $957 a month ($11,490 a year) across Louisiana. That ranks Louisiana 38th of the 47 states with a current statewide price survey, 28% below the national average for the same survey.
Louisiana Childcare Costs at a Glance
Monthly cost for one child in full-time care, 2026. Daycare figures are statewide averages for licensed providers (Child Care Aware of America); nanny figures use Care.com's average Louisiana rate of $18.88/hour × 40 hours a week, before employer payroll taxes; the au pair figure is the national program cost (agency fees, the federal minimum stipend and education allowance).
Daycare Prices in Louisiana by Age (2026)
Infant care costs the most because licensing rules require more caregivers per baby. At Louisiana centers, toddler care averages 8% less than infant care and care for a 4-year-old 15% less. Louisiana licenses only centers: home-based family child care providers, who care for six or fewer children, are registered rather than licensed, so CCAoA reports no family child care average.
| Age | Center, per month | Center, per year |
|---|---|---|
| Infant | $957 | $11,490 |
| Toddler | $882 | $10,590 |
| 4-year-old (preschool) | $810 | $9,720 |
Source: Child Care Aware of America, Child Care in America: 2025 Price & Supply (state data as of December 2025), +3.2% to 2026 prices via the BLS consumer price index for day care and preschool (series CUUR0000SEEB03). Statewide averages for full-time care in licensed providers; "family child care" means a licensed provider caring for children in their own home. CCAoA's Louisiana figures are exactly 2.6% higher than in its 2024 report, which suggests they carry forward an older state price survey adjusted for inflation rather than newly collected prices.
Nanny, Nanny Share and After-School Care in Louisiana
Care.com's average starting rate for a nanny in Louisiana is $18.88 an hour (October 2026). For a 40-hour week year-round that is about $39,270 a year ($3,273 a month) before employer payroll taxes, which add roughly 10% more. In New Orleans, the rate is $20.55 an hour, or about $42,740 a year.
In a nanny share, two families split one nanny and each typically pays about two-thirds of the solo rate: about $26,180 a year per family at the Louisiana average. After-school care for a school-age child averages $16.71 an hour statewide; at 15 hours a week that is about $13,030 a year, before summer care. As a nanny's employer you owe Social Security, Medicare and federal unemployment tax once you pay $3,000 or more in a year. Estimate the total with the nanny tax calculator or the nanny share calculator.
How Prices Vary Across Louisiana
Parish prices are tightly bunched. In the U.S. Department of Labor's 2022 parish medians, full-time infant center care ran from $120 a week in East Feliciana Parish to $160 in LaSalle Parish, with Orleans Parish at $152, East Baton Rouge at $143 and Caddo (Shreveport) at $157. In 2026 prices that is roughly $640 to $855 a month.
The Louisiana Department of Education's 2023 market rate survey, fielded in October and November 2023, found a median of $37 a day (about $185 a week) for infants at licensed Type III centers, the same statewide as in urban and suburban parishes, against $35 in rural parishes. Home-based family providers charged a median of $33 a day in urban parishes and $25 in rural ones. Across all types of care, infant care in the New Orleans region averaged $44.37 a day.
How Louisiana Compares With Nearby States
Child Care Aware of America's national average for full-time infant center care was $15,460 a year in 2025, about $1,330 a month in 2026 prices. Louisiana's statewide average is 28% below that, 38th highest of the 47 states in the survey. The table compares Louisiana with its neighbors using the same survey, so the figures are like-for-like.
| State | Infant center, monthly | Infant family child care, monthly | Rank of 47 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Louisiana | $957 | n/a | 38 |
| Texas | $937 | $865 | 41 |
| Arkansas | $837 | $749 | 43 |
| Mississippi | $558 | $420 | 47 |
CCAoA 2025 statewide averages, +3.2% to 2026 prices. Rank 1 = most expensive. Our state pages for metro-tracked states headline a different figure (the average of the metros we track), so compare states using this table, not those headlines.
How Affordable Is Child Care in Louisiana?
A year of full-time center care for one infant ($11,490 at the statewide average) equals 19% of Louisiana's median household income ($60,986), 9% of the median income of a married couple with children ($121,101) and 37% for a single mother ($31,085), using the U.S. Census Bureau's 2024 American Community Survey.
Help Paying for Child Care in Louisiana
Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP)
Run by the Louisiana Department of Education. Families qualify with gross income up to 85% of state median income: $5,839 a month ($70,068 a year) for a family of three on the scale effective February 1, 2026. Parents must work at least 20 hours a week at minimum wage or more, attend job training or school at least 20 hours a week, or study full time. Copays are small and flat: nothing for households under 65% of state median income ($4,397 a month for three), then $2, $3, $8 or $10 by income band, plus anything a provider charges above CCAP's maximum rate.
A statewide waiting list has applied to new applicants since October 2022. At the end of August 2026 it held 7,819 children, including 362 in Orleans Parish and 519 in Jefferson Parish. Children experiencing homelessness, in foster care, with disabilities, in Early Head Start–Child Care Partnerships or in families in the STEP work program skip the list. Apply online through the LDOE CAFE portal; details are on the CCAP page.
Louisiana tax credits
Louisiana has two. The Child Care Credit is a share of your federal credit: 50% if federal AGI is $25,000 or less (refundable), 30% from $25,001 to $35,000, 10% from $35,001 to $60,000, and the lesser of $25 or 10% above that; the nonrefundable amounts can be carried forward five years. For a child under 6 at a licensed center rated at least two stars, the Child Care Expense Tax Credit (formerly the School Readiness credit, renamed a Workforce Child Care Tax Credit from 2026) adds 50% to 200% of your Louisiana credit depending on the center's star rating, refundable at AGI of $25,000 or less. Louisiana's 2025 forms still use the pre-2026 federal rates, and the Department of Revenue hasn't said how the larger 2026 federal credit will flow through.
LA 4 pre-K
LA 4, Louisiana's main state-funded pre-K, offers a 6-hour day for children who turn 4 by September 30 in families at or below 200% of the federal poverty level (about $54,640 for three in 2026) or on SNAP; children in foster care or experiencing homelessness qualify automatically. Families above the limit need a locally funded seat or pay tuition on a sliding scale. Ask your local community network or school system.
Federal tax breaks
Federal benefits are the same in every state. For 2026 a Dependent Care FSA through an employer lets you set aside up to $7,500 per household before tax ($3,750 if married filing separately), and the Child and Dependent Care Credit covers 20% to 50% of up to $3,000 in care costs for one child or $6,000 for two or more; FSA money reduces the costs that count toward the credit. Compare the two with the Dependent Care FSA calculator or the child care tax credit calculator, and check your subsidy odds with the subsidy eligibility calculator.
What Our Calculator Uses in Louisiana
Our New Orleans metro estimate was re-checked in October 2026 against the state survey; elsewhere the calculator uses the statewide averages on this page. Because Louisiana's survey found little difference between city and rural centers, the two are close.
| Area | Zip codes | Center | In-home daycare | Nanny |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Orleans (Orleans, Jefferson) (metro estimate) | 700–701 | $11,050 | $10,720 | $42,740 |
| Rest of Louisiana (Baton Rouge, Shreveport, Lafayette) (statewide average) | 703–715 | $11,490 | $9,490 | $39,270 |
Yearly cost for one infant in full-time care. Zip codes are matched on their first three digits. Nanny figures are before employer payroll taxes. The calculator also adjusts for each child's age, part-time schedules, sibling discounts and tax savings.
About These Figures
Statewide daycare prices here are averages for licensed providers across all of Louisiana, reported to Child Care Aware of America for its 2025 Price & Supply survey, and raised 3.2% to 2026 prices with the BLS day care and preschool price index. Our city pages estimate metro prices from Care.com rates, and big-city prices usually run above a statewide average. Use this page to compare Louisiana with other states, and the calculator for your zip code.
Child Care Aware of America's figures are used for informational purposes with credit to Child Care Aware of America, info.childcareaware.org/price-and-supply-2025. County figures come from the U.S. Department of Labor's National Database of Childcare Prices (public domain). See our methodology for how the calculator works.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does daycare cost in Louisiana?
Full-time infant care at a licensed Louisiana center averages about $957 a month ($11,490 a year) statewide in 2026 prices, based on Child Care Aware of America's 2025 survey adjusted for inflation. Toddler care averages $882 a month and care for a 4-year-old $810. Louisiana doesn't license home-based providers, so there is no statewide family child care average.
How much does a nanny cost in Louisiana?
Care.com's average Louisiana nanny rate is $18.88 an hour (October 2026), about $39,270 a year for 40 hours a week, before roughly 10% in employer payroll taxes. In New Orleans the average is $20.55 an hour. A nanny share cuts the cost to about $26,180 a year per family.
Does Louisiana help families pay for child care?
Yes. The Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), run by the Louisiana Department of Education, covers families with income up to $70,068 a year for a family of three, with flat copays of $0 to $10. But new applicants have faced a waiting list since October 2022, with 7,819 children on it in August 2026; priority groups such as children experiencing homelessness or with disabilities skip it. LA 4 offers state-funded pre-K for 4-year-olds in families up to 200% of poverty.
Is there a Louisiana child care tax credit?
Yes. The Child Care Credit is 50% of your federal credit if your AGI is $25,000 or less (refundable), falling to 30% and 10% at higher incomes and a $25 maximum above $60,000. If your child under 6 attends a center rated two stars or higher, the Child Care Expense Tax Credit adds 50% to 200% of that amount.
Sources
- Prices: Child Care Aware of America, Child Care in America: 2025 Price & Supply (published May 2026; state price data; methodology). Inflation adjustment: BLS CPI-U, day care and preschool (December 2025 394.711; September 2026 407.335).
- County prices: U.S. Department of Labor, National Database of Childcare Prices, 2022 county medians (data file).
- Nanny rates: Care.com Cost of Care Calculator, New Orleans (state and city averages, October 2026).
- Subsidy: LDOE, Child Care Assistance Program; CCAP sliding fee scale (effective February 1, 2026); 2026 CCAP waitlist statistics; Bulletin 139 (January 2026).
- Taxes: La. R.S. 47:297.4; La. R.S. 47:6104; 2025 IT-540 instructions; LDR Workforce Child Care Tax Credit guide.
- Pre-K: LDOE, pre-K program eligibility determination.
- Market rates: 2023 Louisiana Child Care Market Rate Survey (LDOE).
- Income: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2024 1-year, table B19013 (median household income) and table B19126 (median family income by family type).
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