How much does summer camp cost in 2026?
A typical week of summer camp in the US runs around $400. Most families end up paying somewhere between $182 and $1,070, depending on the camp and the city. Pulled from 10,799 active camps.
What a week of camp costs in the US
A cheap week runs about $80 (city rec programs, drop-ins). A typical week is around $400. A premium week — specialty overnight, small-group coaching, prestige faculty — tops $2,150. Pulled from 10,799 US camps with posted 2026 prices.
Canadian camps (105 in the sample) run about $284 for a typical week, with most families paying somewhere between $150 and $500.
What different kinds of camp cost
STEM, sports, and arts day camps tend to land near the middle of the pack. Overnight and specialty programs run higher. City rec-center and drop-in programs run quite a bit cheaper. Below: the typical week, plus the budget end and the higher end, for each category.
| Type | Camps | Budget-friendly | Typical week | Higher end | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Traditional Day Camp | 2,852 | $80 | $150 | $275 | $454 |
| Day Camp | 2,736 | $78 | $150 | $261 | $399 |
| STEM / Science & Tech | 1,429 | $340 | $550 | $924 | $1,149 |
| Overnight / Sleepaway | 1,423 | $1,230 | $1,750 | $2,215 | $2,550 |
| Drop-In Rec Centers | 1,327 | $70 | $100 | $158 | $260 |
| Specialty | 989 | $190 | $399 | $870 | $2,050 |
| Sports | 984 | $148 | $300 | $599 | $1,388 |
| Performing Arts | 682 | $300 | $473 | $695 | $1,250 |
| Arts | 636 | $245 | $350 | $619 | $1,725 |
| Adventure & Nature | 436 | $375 | $1,300 | $2,336 | $2,765 |
| Academic | 371 | $260 | $699 | $2,000 | $3,100 |
| Aquatics / Water Sports | 196 | $239 | $450 | $1,150 | $2,450 |
What a week costs in the ten biggest markets
Coastal metros tend to run 30–40% higher than the national middle. Where you live drives more of the price than what your kid does at camp.
| Metro | Camps | Budget-friendly | Typical week | Higher end |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 1,117 | $467 | $550 | $800 |
| New York | 168 | $82 | $650 | $949 |
| Jacksonville | 87 | $20 | $48 | $48 |
| Baltimore | 85 | $185 | $225 | $255 |
| Seattle | 75 | $515 | $555 | $949 |
| Atlanta | 66 | $400 | $550 | $949 |
| San Jose | 64 | $361 | $364 | $428 |
| Chicago | 63 | $275 | $450 | $575 |
| Phoenix | 62 | $60 | $70 | $80 |
| Durham | 62 | $132 | $132 | $157 |
Click any metro to see the camps behind these numbers.
How these numbers were made
Source. The weekly price each camp posts publicly on its own website or registration page. We skip inactive camps and obvious data errors (anything under $10 a week is noise, not a real price).
How a number gets on this page. A city, camp type, or combination only shows up here if we have prices for at least 20 active camps in that group. Anything thinner than that gets a dash — the sample's too small to trust.
Currency. US prices are in USD, Canadian prices in CAD. No conversion — parents budget in their own money.
What these prices don't include. Registration fees, supply lists, before- or after-care add-ons, and scholarship discounts. Those live on each camp's own detail page, not in the headline weekly rate.
See the camps behind the numbers
- Los Angeles STEM camps — prices in the biggest metro
- San Francisco Bay Area STEM camps — across 11 Bay cities
- NYC summer camps — five boroughs plus close-in NJ/CT
- LA camps with financial aid — sliding-scale options
- Full directory — filter by price, age, and features
See what camps cost in your city.
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