Affordable Daycare in Arizona
Full-time care at a center costs a median of $215 a week for a baby and $162 for a preschooler in the middle Arizona county (2022). Families who qualify can get help paying through Arizona's child care assistance program, and the daycares listed here accept it.
- daycares that accept child care assistance listed
- 124
- towns
- 26
- towns have their own affordable daycare page
- 8
- of all Arizona daycares
- 5%
Map of Arizona: each dot is a town with daycares that accept child care assistance, sized by how many are listed
Cost and help paying
What daycare costs in Arizona, and help paying for it
- Infant care at a center, per week, in the middle Arizona county (2022)
- $215
- The median of 15 county medians, from $188 in the lowest county to $270 in the highest.
- Preschool-age care at a center, per week, in the middle Arizona county (2022)
- $162
- The median of 15 county medians, from $155 in the lowest county to $210 in the highest.
- Head Start or Early Head Start centers in Arizona
- 283
- Free for children from birth to 5 in families who qualify, by income or because they receive public assistance.
Arizona
Largest towns for affordable daycare in Arizona
Programs
Programs in Arizona
Counts come from the state record and what each daycare says it offers. A daycare without a tag may still offer the program; ask.
| Program | Listed |
|---|---|
| All daycares | 2,529 |
| Take infants | 293 |
| Child care centers | 2,251 |
| Accept subsidy | 124 |
| In-home daycares | 278 |
| Christian & church daycares | 202 |
| Montessori schools | 117 |
| Preschools & pre-K | 808 |
| Early morning daycare | 468 |
| Part-time daycare | 184 |
| Drop-in daycare | 31 |
| Bilingual daycare | 41 |
| Head Start | 283 |
The Arizona state record
Arizona Department of Health Services, Bureau of Child Care Licensing licenses daycares in Arizona.
- License list
- The state's public list of licensed child care
- Ages served
- On some licenses only; elsewhere shown where the daycare gives them
- Inspections
- Every visit the state publishes back to 2023
- Cited rules
- The inspector's finding, in the state's own words
Before you enroll
Paying for daycare in Arizona
- 1
Apply for assistance first
Your state decides who qualifies and how much it pays. Apply through the state's child care assistance office before you choose a daycare.
- 2
Ask about the copayment
Most families pay a share of the cost. Ask the daycare whether it charges more than the state pays, and how much.
- 3
Ask about open subsidy spots
Some daycares cap how many children on assistance they take. Ask whether a spot is open now.
- 4
Check the license record
Open a listing for its state license and, where the state publishes it, the inspection record.
Arizona
Cost, inspections and ratios in Arizona
A to Z
All 26 Arizona towns with affordable daycare, A to Z
B1 town
- Buckeye1 accept assistance
C5 towns
- Camp Verde1 accept assistance
- Casa Grande2 accept assistance
- Cave Creek1 accept assistance
- Chandler7 accept assistance
- Cottonwood1 accept assistance
L3 towns
- Lake Havasu City1 accept assistance
- Laveen1 accept assistance
- Litchfield Park2 accept assistance
M1 town
- Mesa17 accept assistance
O1 town
- Oro Valley1 accept assistance
Q1 town
- Queen Creek1 accept assistance
S4 towns
- Scottsdale3 accept assistance
- Show Low1 accept assistance
- Sierra Vista1 accept assistance
- Surprise2 accept assistance
Y1 town
- Yuma5 accept assistance
No town on this list matches. Check the spelling, or search by ZIP code above.
Nearby
Nearby states
Questions
Questions about affordable daycare in Arizona
How many daycares that accept child care assistance are in Arizona?
124 daycares that accept child care assistance are listed in 26 Arizona towns. Accepting assistance says nothing about a daycare's own prices. A daycare without this tag may still accept assistance; ask.
Which Arizona town has the most daycares that accept child care assistance?
Phoenix, with 27 listed. Next are Tucson (25) and Mesa (17).
How do I apply for child care assistance in Arizona?
Apply through Arizona's child care assistance program, run by the Arizona Department of Economic Security. Income limits change each year, so check the current limits on the state's site.
Is there free daycare?
Some families can get it. Head Start and Early Head Start are free for children from families who qualify, and some states waive the family's share of the cost for the lowest incomes. Ask your state's child care assistance office what you qualify for.
Does a daycare that accepts assistance cost more?
Not by itself. Accepting assistance means the daycare takes payments from the state program; its own prices vary like any daycare's. Ask whether it charges more than the state pays, and how much you would pay.
How does child care assistance work?
Each state runs a child care assistance program, paid for in part by the federal Child Care and Development Fund. Families who qualify by income, and usually by working, looking for work or going to school, get help paying a daycare that accepts it; the help is often called a voucher or subsidy. Most families pay a share called a copayment, set by the state. Apply through the Arizona child care assistance office.
Can I get free daycare?
Some families can. States may waive the copayment for families with the lowest incomes, and Head Start and Early Head Start are free for families who qualify. Ask your state's child care assistance office what you qualify for.
Who licenses daycares in Arizona?
Arizona Department of Health Services, Bureau of Child Care Licensing licenses daycares in Arizona. It publishes its inspections and the rules it cited, and we copy them onto each listing.