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Accepts assistance

Affordable Daycare in California

Full-time care at a center costs a median of $353 a week for a baby and $190 for a preschooler in the middle California county (2022). Families who qualify can get help paying through California's subsidized child care programs, and the daycares listed here accept it.

daycares that accept child care assistance listed
462
towns
194
towns have their own affordable daycare page
45
of all California daycares
2%

Map of California: each dot is a town with daycares that accept child care assistance, sized by how many are listed

Accepts assistance
What puts a daycare on this listThe state record says it accepts child care subsidies, or it says it accepts child care assistance or vouchers.The California license list we load does not record subsidies, so here this list has daycares that say they accept child care assistance.Accepting assistance says nothing about a daycare's own prices. A daycare without this tag may still accept assistance; ask.

Cost and help paying

What daycare costs in California, and help paying for it

Infant care at a center, per week, in the middle California county (2022)
$353
The median of 58 county medians, from $222 in the lowest county to $607 in the highest.
Preschool-age care at a center, per week, in the middle California county (2022)
$190
The median of 58 county medians, from $145 in the lowest county to $477 in the highest.
Head Start or Early Head Start centers in California
1,403
Free for children from birth to 5 in families who qualify, by income or because they receive public assistance.
How to apply: California's subsidized child care programsHead Start in CaliforniaDaycare cost in California, by age and county

County prices: U.S. Department of Labor, National Database of Childcare Prices, 2022 (median full-time weekly price).

California

Largest towns for affordable daycare in California

San Francisco28 accept assistanceLos Angeles23 accept assistanceSan Diego20 accept assistanceSacramento15 accept assistanceSan Jose14 accept assistanceIrvine12 accept assistanceElk Grove11 accept assistanceChula Vista7 accept assistanceSanta Rosa6 accept assistanceTracy6 accept assistanceBakersfield5 accept assistanceEl Cajon5 accept assistance

Programs

Programs in California

Counts come from the state record and what each daycare says it offers. A daycare without a tag may still offer the program; ask.

ProgramListed
All daycares25,828
Take infants2,521
Child care centers10,951
Accept subsidy462
In-home daycares14,877
Christian & church daycares959
Montessori schools1,064
Preschools & pre-K3,768
Early morning daycare1,135
Part-time daycare816
Drop-in daycare202
After-school care1,529
Bilingual daycare512
Head Start1,403

The California state record

California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division licenses daycares in California.

License list
The state's public list of licensed child care
Ages served
The ages on each license
Inspections
Every visit the state publishes back to 2021
Cited rules
Citation counts as the state reports them
Corrections
Correction dates as the state records them
Search the California state records

Before you enroll

Paying for daycare in California

  1. 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. 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. 3

    Ask about open subsidy spots

    Some daycares cap how many children on assistance they take. Ask whether a spot is open now.

  4. 4

    Check the license record

    Open a listing for its state license and, where the state publishes it, the inspection record.

California

Cost, inspections and ratios in California

Daycare cost in CaliforniaWeekly prices by age and countyWhat California inspectors citeThe rules cited most, and what they meanStaff-to-child ratios in CaliforniaHow many children each adult may care forDaycare tour checklistQuestions to ask when you visit

A to Z

All 194 California towns with affordable daycare, A to Z

A14 towns
B8 towns
C19 towns
D7 towns
E7 towns
F8 towns
G4 towns
H4 towns
I2 towns
L17 towns
M11 towns
N5 towns
O7 towns
P9 towns
R11 towns
S35 towns
T8 towns
U1 town
V7 towns
W10 towns

Nearby

Nearby states

Oregon170 accept assistanceArizona124 accept assistanceNevada18 accept assistance

Questions

Questions about affordable daycare in California

How many daycares that accept child care assistance are in California?

462 daycares that accept child care assistance are listed in 194 California towns. Accepting assistance says nothing about a daycare's own prices. A daycare without this tag may still accept assistance; ask.

Which California town has the most daycares that accept child care assistance?

San Francisco, with 28 listed. Next are Los Angeles (23) and San Diego (20).

How do I apply for child care assistance in California?

Apply through California's subsidized child care programs, run by the California Department of Social Services. It is for families who meet certain income and eligibility criteria. Families on CalWORKs cash aid with age-eligible children qualify for CalWORKs child care. 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 California 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 California?

California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division licenses daycares in California. It publishes its inspections with the citation counts, and we copy them onto each listing.