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Daycares in Iowa

Child care centers and home daycares in Iowa, town by town, with the ages each one serves, its hours and, where the state publishes it, its inspection record. Pick a town below, or search by town or ZIP.

daycares listed
3,122
towns
456
take infants
168
accept subsidy
33

Iowa

Largest towns in Iowa

Des Moines365 daycaresDavenport136 daycaresCedar Rapids133 daycaresWaterloo98 daycaresSioux City94 daycaresAnkeny86 daycaresCouncil Bluffs72 daycaresIowa City69 daycaresWest Des Moines61 daycaresDubuque60 daycaresUrbandale44 daycaresBurlington42 daycares

Programs

Programs in Iowa

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
Take infants168
Child care centers1,478
Accept subsidy33
In-home daycares1,644
Christian & church daycares143
Montessori schools33
Preschools & pre-K345
Early morning daycare290
Part-time daycare74
Drop-in daycare17
Bilingual daycare13
Head Start118

The Iowa state record

Iowa Department of Health and Human Services licenses daycares in Iowa.

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
Each cited rule, in the state's own wording
Search the Iowa state records

Iowa

Cost, inspections and ratios in Iowa

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

A to Z

All 456 Iowa towns, A to Z

A31 towns
B24 towns
C42 towns
D28 towns
E21 towns
F14 towns
G24 towns
H17 towns
I8 towns
J5 towns
K9 towns
L31 towns
M44 towns
N14 towns
O16 towns
P17 towns
R18 towns
S41 towns
T10 towns
U5 towns
V6 towns
W30 towns
Z1 town

Nearby

Nearby states

Illinois8,493 daycaresMinnesota7,811 daycaresWisconsin4,607 daycaresNebraska2,629 daycaresMissouri2,614 daycaresSouth Dakota698 daycares

Questions

Questions about daycare in Iowa

How many daycares are in Iowa?

3,122 daycares are listed across 456 Iowa towns: 1,478 child care centers and 1,644 home daycares.

Who licenses daycares in Iowa?

Iowa Department of Health and Human Services licenses daycares in Iowa. It publishes its inspections and the rules it cited, and we copy them onto each listing.

How many Iowa daycares take infants?

168, by the state record or their own description. A daycare without this tag may still take infants; ask.

How many Iowa daycares accept child care subsidies?

33 are listed as accepting subsidies. Ask each one whether it has a subsidy spot open now.