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Accepts assistance

Affordable Daycare in Texas

Full-time care at a center costs a median of $144 a week for a baby and $133 for a preschooler in the middle Texas county (2022). Families who qualify can get help paying through Child Care Services (child care scholarships), and the daycares listed here accept it.

daycares that accept child care assistance listed
5,958
towns
622
towns have their own affordable daycare page
294
of all Texas daycares
42%

Map of Texas: 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 Texas, and help paying for it

Infant care at a center, per week, in the middle Texas county (2022)
$144
The median of 254 county medians, from $113 in the lowest county to $229 in the highest.
Preschool-age care at a center, per week, in the middle Texas county (2022)
$133
The median of 254 county medians, from $103 in the lowest county to $209 in the highest.
Head Start or Early Head Start centers in Texas
565
Free for children from birth to 5 in families who qualify, by income or because they receive public assistance.
How to apply: Child Care Services (child care scholarships)Head Start in TexasDaycare cost in Texas, by age and county

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

Texas

Largest towns for affordable daycare in Texas

Houston590 accept assistanceSan Antonio350 accept assistanceAustin220 accept assistanceEl Paso204 accept assistanceDallas203 accept assistanceFort Worth159 accept assistanceKaty107 accept assistanceCorpus Christi98 accept assistanceLaredo97 accept assistanceArlington85 accept assistanceSpring81 accept assistanceKilleen77 accept assistance

Programs

Programs in Texas

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 daycares14,306
Take infants10,340
Child care centers9,595
Accept subsidy5,958
In-home daycares4,711
Christian & church daycares1,317
Montessori schools733
Preschools & pre-K13,150
24-hour daycare159
Night daycare1,367
Early morning daycare6,146
Weekend daycare1,190
Part-time daycare543
Drop-in daycare230
After-school care12,562
Bilingual daycare380
Head Start565

The Texas state record

Texas Health and Human Services, Child Care Regulation licenses daycares in Texas.

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
The inspector's finding, in the state's own words, with the risk level
Corrections
Correction dates as the state records them
Search the Texas state records

Before you enroll

Paying for daycare in Texas

  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.

Texas

Cost, inspections and ratios in Texas

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

A to Z

All 622 Texas towns with affordable daycare, A to Z

A29 towns
B46 towns
C62 towns
D23 towns
E21 towns
F27 towns
G27 towns
H44 towns
I3 towns
J10 towns
K19 towns
L40 towns
M40 towns
N19 towns
O8 towns
P37 towns
Q2 towns
R29 towns
S67 towns
T21 towns
U2 towns
V10 towns
W33 towns
Y2 towns
Z1 town

Nearby

Nearby states

Oklahoma1,774 accept assistanceLouisiana1,101 accept assistanceArkansas890 accept assistanceNew Mexico46 accept assistance

Questions

Questions about affordable daycare in Texas

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

5,958 daycares that accept child care assistance are listed in 622 Texas towns. Accepting assistance says nothing about a daycare's own prices. A daycare without this tag may still accept assistance; ask.

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

Houston, with 590 listed. Next are San Antonio (350) and Austin (220).

How do I apply for child care assistance in Texas?

Apply through Child Care Services (child care scholarships), run by the Texas Workforce Commission, through local Workforce Solutions offices. It is for eligible Texas families with children from birth to age 12 (up to 18 with disabilities) who need child care to work, look for work, or go to school or job training, and who meet the income rules. 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 Texas 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 Texas?

Texas Health and Human Services, Child Care Regulation licenses daycares in Texas. It publishes its inspections and the rules it cited, and we copy them onto each listing.