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In-home daycare

In-Home Daycares in California

An in-home daycare is a licensed family child care home: the provider looks after a small group of children in their own home. Full-time infant care at a home daycare costs a median of $246 a week in the middle California county (2022).

in-home daycares listed
14,877
towns
699
towns have their own in-home daycares page
477
of all California daycares
58%

Map of California: each dot is a town with in-home daycares, sized by how many are listed

In-home daycare
What puts a daycare on this listThe state license record lists it as a family or group child care home (family child care), where the provider cares for a small group in their own home. Where no state license record is available, its business listing names it a family day care.Street addresses are not shown for home daycares. The provider shares the address with families, so call to arrange a visit.

In-home daycare

What in-home daycare looks like in California

The typical licensed capacity of a California in-home daycare
14 children
The median capacity on 14,877 California home daycare licenses. Ask how many children come on a usual day and their ages.
Infant care at a home daycare, per week, in the middle California county (2022)
$246
The median of 58 county medians, from $190 in the lowest county to $408 in the highest.

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

California

Largest towns for in-home daycares in California

Los Angeles693 in-home daycaresSan Diego631 in-home daycaresSan Jose401 in-home daycaresSacramento393 in-home daycaresSanta Maria320 in-home daycaresSan Francisco297 in-home daycaresEl Cajon268 in-home daycaresBakersfield232 in-home daycaresGlendale193 in-home daycaresChula Vista179 in-home daycaresLong Beach171 in-home daycaresOakland170 in-home daycares

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

Choosing an in-home daycare in California

  1. 1

    Ask who else is in the home

    Ask who lives in the home and who helps with the children. Many states require background checks for adults living in a licensed home.

  2. 2

    Ask about backup care

    With one provider, a sick day or vacation closes the daycare. Ask how many days a year they close and what families do then.

  3. 3

    Ask about the group

    Ask how many children come each day and their ages. A home daycare often mixes babies and school-age children in one group.

  4. 4

    Check the license record

    Open the daycare's page here to see its license type, capacity and the state's inspection record, where we hold them.

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 699 California towns with in-home daycares, A to Z

A38 towns
B35 towns
C72 towns
D17 towns
E23 towns
F22 towns
G25 towns
H25 towns
I8 towns
J5 towns
K10 towns
L61 towns
M49 towns
N20 towns
O20 towns
P51 towns
Q2 towns
R40 towns
S92 towns
T25 towns
U4 towns
V16 towns
W34 towns
Y5 towns

Nearby

Nearby states

Arizona278 in-home daycaresNevada156 in-home daycaresOregon77 in-home daycares

Questions

Questions about in-home daycares in California

How many in-home daycares are in California?

14,877 in-home daycares are listed in 699 California towns. Street addresses are not shown for home daycares. The provider shares the address with families, so call to arrange a visit.

Which California town has the most in-home daycares?

Los Angeles, with 693 listed. Next are San Diego (631) and San Jose (401).

What is the difference between in-home daycare and family child care?

They are the same thing. State licenses call it a family child care home (or a group or large family home when there is an assistant): a provider caring for a small group of children in their own home.

How many children can a home daycare have in California?

It depends on the license type and the children's ages. The typical California home daycare license here is for 14 children; each listing shows its own licensed capacity.

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.