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Accepts assistance

Affordable Daycare in Pennsylvania

Families who qualify can get help paying through Child Care Works, and the daycares listed here accept it.

daycares that accept child care assistance listed
5,759
towns
756
towns have their own affordable daycare page
354
of all Pennsylvania daycares
89%

Map of Pennsylvania: 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.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 Pennsylvania, and help paying for it

Head Start or Early Head Start centers in Pennsylvania
174
Free for children from birth to 5 in families who qualify, by income or because they receive public assistance.
take part in Pennsylvania Pre-K Counts
520
It is for children from age 3 until they start kindergarten. It is free to eligible families.
How to apply: Child Care WorksHead Start in PennsylvaniaPennsylvania Pre-K Counts: the official pageDaycare cost in Pennsylvania, by age and county

Pennsylvania

Largest towns for affordable daycare in Pennsylvania

Philadelphia1,496 accept assistancePittsburgh294 accept assistanceAllentown242 accept assistanceLancaster107 accept assistanceErie95 accept assistanceHarrisburg95 accept assistanceReading92 accept assistanceYork58 accept assistanceLebanon55 accept assistanceBethlehem44 accept assistanceUpper Darby44 accept assistanceEaston41 accept assistance

Programs

Programs in Pennsylvania

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 daycares6,471
Take infants898
Child care centers4,955
Accept subsidy5,759
In-home daycares1,516
Christian & church daycares320
Montessori schools131
Preschools & pre-K1,317
24-hour daycare10
Night daycare294
Early morning daycare2,348
Weekend daycare237
Part-time daycare351
Drop-in daycare63
After-school care3,376
Bilingual daycare45
Head Start174

The Pennsylvania state record

Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Child Development and Early Learning licenses daycares in Pennsylvania.

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 2021
Cited rules
The inspector's finding, in the state's own words
Corrections
Correction dates as the state records them
Search the Pennsylvania state records

Before you enroll

Paying for daycare in Pennsylvania

  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.

Pennsylvania

Cost, inspections and ratios in Pennsylvania

Daycare cost in PennsylvaniaWeekly prices by age and countyWhat Pennsylvania inspectors citeThe rules cited most, and what they meanStaff-to-child ratios in PennsylvaniaHow many children each adult may care forTour checklist for PennsylvaniaQuestions to ask when you visit

A to Z

All 756 Pennsylvania towns with affordable daycare, A to Z

A28 towns
B61 towns
C70 towns
D31 towns
E43 towns
F31 towns
G26 towns
H40 towns
I5 towns
J13 towns
K12 towns
L39 towns
M78 towns
N33 towns
O16 towns
P36 towns
Q2 towns
R19 towns
S69 towns
T30 towns
U6 towns
V4 towns
W54 towns
Y8 towns
Z2 towns

Nearby

Nearby states

Delaware913 accept assistanceNew York229 accept assistanceNew Jersey142 accept assistanceMaryland21 accept assistanceOhio15 accept assistanceWest Virginia1,183 daycares

Questions

Questions about affordable daycare in Pennsylvania

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

5,759 daycares that accept child care assistance are listed in 756 Pennsylvania towns. Accepting assistance says nothing about a daycare's own prices. A daycare without this tag may still accept assistance; ask.

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

Philadelphia, with 1,496 listed. Next are Pittsburgh (294) and Allentown (242).

How do I apply for child care assistance in Pennsylvania?

Apply through Child Care Works, run by the Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, through local Early Learning Resource Centers. It is for low-income Pennsylvania families with children from birth to age 13 (through 18 with disabilities) who need child care while parents work or attend an education or training program. 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 Pennsylvania 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 Pennsylvania?

Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Child Development and Early Learning licenses daycares in Pennsylvania. It publishes its inspections and the rules it cited, and we copy them onto each listing.