Skip to content
DaycarePal
Accepts assistance

Affordable Daycare in New York

Full-time care at a center costs a median of $247 a week for a baby and $200 for a preschooler in the middle New York county (2022). Families who qualify can get help paying through the Child Care Assistance Program, and the daycares listed here accept it.

daycares that accept child care assistance listed
229
towns
106
towns have their own affordable daycare page
11
of all New York daycares
1%

Map of New York: 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 New York 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 New York, and help paying for it

Infant care at a center, per week, in the middle New York county (2022)
$247
The median of 62 county medians, from $247 in the lowest county to $325 in the highest.
Preschool-age care at a center, per week, in the middle New York county (2022)
$200
The median of 62 county medians, from $200 in the lowest county to $293 in the highest.
Head Start or Early Head Start centers in New York
469
Free for children from birth to 5 in families who qualify, by income or because they receive public assistance.
How to apply: Child Care Assistance ProgramHead Start in New YorkDaycare cost in New York, by age and county

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

New York

Largest towns for affordable daycare in New York

Brooklyn44 accept assistanceBronx24 accept assistanceNew York16 accept assistanceQueens11 accept assistanceBuffalo5 accept assistanceElmont4 accept assistanceJamaica4 accept assistanceRochester4 accept assistanceValley Stream3 accept assistanceWatertown3 accept assistanceYonkers3 accept assistanceBaldwin2 accept assistance

Programs

Programs in New York

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 daycares18,819
Take infants2,017
Child care centers7,008
Accept subsidy229
In-home daycares11,811
Christian & church daycares284
Montessori schools223
Preschools & pre-K4,338
Early morning daycare766
Part-time daycare363
Drop-in daycare98
After-school care3,511
Bilingual daycare200
Head Start469

The New York state record

New York State Office of Children and Family Services licenses daycares in New York.

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 2023
Cited rules
Each cited rule, in the state's own wording
Search the New York state records

Before you enroll

Paying for daycare in New York

  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.

New York

Cost, inspections and ratios in New York

Daycare cost in New YorkWeekly prices by age and countyWhat New York inspectors citeThe rules cited most, and what they meanStaff-to-child ratios in New YorkHow many children each adult may care forTour checklist for New YorkQuestions to ask when you visit

A to Z

All 106 New York towns with affordable daycare, A to Z

A2 towns
B8 towns
C9 towns
D3 towns
E4 towns
F5 towns
G5 towns
H5 towns
I2 towns
J2 towns
K3 towns
L6 towns
M7 towns
N6 towns
O4 towns
P4 towns
Q1 town
R5 towns
S11 towns
T4 towns
U1 town
V3 towns
W5 towns
Y1 town

Nearby

Nearby states

Massachusetts6,436 accept assistancePennsylvania5,759 accept assistanceNew Jersey142 accept assistanceConnecticut95 accept assistanceVermont33 accept assistance

Questions

Questions about affordable daycare in New York

How many daycares that accept child care assistance are in New York?

229 daycares that accept child care assistance are listed in 106 New York towns. Accepting assistance says nothing about a daycare's own prices. A daycare without this tag may still accept assistance; ask.

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

Brooklyn, with 44 listed. Next are Bronx (24) and New York (16).

How do I apply for child care assistance in New York?

Apply through the Child Care Assistance Program, run by the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, through local social services districts. It is for families receiving Temporary Assistance and low-income families who need help paying for child care and meet the eligibility requirements. 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 New York 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 New York?

New York State Office of Children and Family Services licenses daycares in New York. It publishes its inspections and the rules it cited, and we copy them onto each listing.