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Infant care

Infant Daycare in California

Full-time infant care at a center costs a median of $353 a week in the middle California county (2022). Each listing shows the ages its state record gives; ask each daycare the youngest age it takes.

daycares that take infants listed
2,521
towns
484
towns have their own infant daycare page
233
of all California daycares
10%

Map of California: each dot is a town with daycares that take infants, sized by how many are listed

Infant care
What puts a daycare on this listThe state record lists infants among the ages it serves, or it says it offers infant care.A daycare without this tag may still take infants; ask.

Infant care

Infant care in California: costs

Infant care at a center, per week, in the middle California county (2022)
$353
The median of 58 county medians, from $222 in the lowest county to $607 in the highest.
Infant tuition posted on daycare websites in California, per week (2026)
$448
The median of 60 daycares that post a full-time rate; half post between $362 and $581. Posted rates run above the 2022 survey: they are newer, and mostly from centers.
of infant programs' websites say they provide meals
31%
Of the 1,096 websites we read for daycares that take infants in California, 31% say meals are provided, 13% mention a parent app with photos or daily notes, and 4.1% mention cameras parents can watch. A website that does not say so may still offer it; ask.
Staff-to-child ratios for babies in CaliforniaDaycare cost in California, by age and county

County prices: U.S. Department of Labor, National Database of Childcare Prices, 2022 (median full-time weekly price). Posted rates: tuition that daycares publish on their own websites, 2026, full-time rates only, one rate per daycare.

California

Largest towns for infant daycare in California

Los Angeles125 take infantsSan Diego91 take infantsSan Francisco81 take infantsSan Jose73 take infantsSacramento59 take infantsIrvine34 take infantsFresno32 take infantsOakland32 take infantsBakersfield24 take infantsLong Beach23 take infantsSunnyvale21 take infantsOceanside20 take infants

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 infant care in California

  1. 1

    Ask about the waitlist

    Infant spots fill first. Ask how long the waitlist is and whether you can join it before your baby is born.

  2. 2

    How many babies each caregiver has

    Ask how many infants one caregiver looks after, and whether the same caregiver is there each day.

  3. 3

    Safe sleep

    Ask where and how babies nap. Where the state publishes inspections, every visit with a sleep rule cited is on the listing's state record.

  4. 4

    Feeding and the daily log

    Ask how bottles and breast milk are handled, and how you will hear about feeds, naps and diapers each day.

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 484 California towns with infant daycare, A to Z

A25 towns
B24 towns
C55 towns
D12 towns
E19 towns
F18 towns
G13 towns
H14 towns
I6 towns
J2 towns
K4 towns
L44 towns
M37 towns
N17 towns
O13 towns
P30 towns
Q1 town
R29 towns
S67 towns
T15 towns
U3 towns
V11 towns
W20 towns
Y5 towns

Nearby

Nearby states

Arizona293 take infantsOregon290 take infantsNevada120 take infants

Questions

Questions about infant daycare in California

How many daycares that take infants are in California?

2,521 daycares that take infants are listed in 484 California towns. A daycare without this tag may still take infants; ask.

Which California town has the most daycares that take infants?

Los Angeles, with 125 listed. Next are San Diego (91) and San Francisco (81).

How much does infant daycare cost in California?

In the middle California county, full-time infant care at a center cost $353 a week in 2022 (U.S. Department of Labor). Daycares that post their rates online in California charge a median of $448 a week for an infant in 2026 (60 daycares). Each town page shows its own county.

How young a baby do daycares in California take?

The California license list we load does not give a starting age, so ask each daycare the youngest age it takes.

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.