Data from the Child Care in Australia report shows the average hourly fee for centre-based child care in Bendigo at December last year was $9.73, a 5.3 per cent increase on the previous year.

It was marginally cheaper for parents in the Castlemaine, Heathcote and Kyneton areas at $9.68, but this represented a 9.5 per cent jump on the cost in December 2017.

This was the third-largest increase in the state, behind Casey South and Baw Baw.

In the Macedon Ranges, child care costs rose by 7 per cent in a year to hit an average of $9.71 per hour last December.

Story continues below graphs

The Campaspe area had the cheapest child care costs in the region with parents paying $9.26 an hour, a 2.2 per cent increase.

The average annual inflation rate in Australia was 1.9 per cent.

Only three areas of the state - two in Melbourne and one in the Geelong region - saw decreases in average child care costs.

Parents in the Bayside area of Melbourne paid an average of $12.35 an hour for child care, the most expensive in the state.

The cheapest child care cost an average of $8.20 an hour, in Gippsland.

Nationwide, the most expensive child care was in Mosman in Sydney, where it cost $14.26 an hour, while child care costs in Far North Queensland were $5.04 an hour.