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Infant care

Infant Daycare in Iowa

Full-time infant care at a center costs a median of $160 a week in the middle Iowa county (2022). Each listing shows the ages its state record gives; ask each daycare the youngest age it takes.

daycares that take infants listed
168
towns
76
towns have their own infant daycare page
17
of all Iowa daycares
5%
Infant careIowa
What puts a daycare on this listThe state record lists infants among the ages it serves, or it says it offers infant care.The Iowa license list we load does not include ages, so this list only has Iowa daycares that say they offer infant care.A daycare without this tag may still take infants; ask.

Infant care

Infant care in Iowa: costs

Infant care at a center, per week, in the middle Iowa county (2022)
$160
The median of 99 county medians, from $148 in the lowest county to $185 in the highest.
Staff-to-child ratios for babies in IowaDaycare cost in Iowa, by age and county

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

Iowa

Largest towns for infant daycare in Iowa

Ankeny11 take infantsCedar Rapids11 take infantsWest Des Moines10 take infantsUrbandale9 take infantsDavenport7 take infantsDes Moines6 take infantsIowa City6 take infantsJohnston6 take infantsNorth Liberty5 take infantsWaukee5 take infantsBettendorf4 take infantsCouncil Bluffs4 take infants

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
All daycares3,122
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

Before you enroll

Choosing infant care in Iowa

  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.

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 76 Iowa towns with infant daycare, A to Z

A4 towns
B7 towns
C8 towns
D7 towns
E2 towns
F3 towns
G3 towns
H1 town
I4 towns
J1 town
K1 town
L2 towns
M6 towns
N4 towns
O1 town
P5 towns
R1 town
S6 towns
T1 town
U1 town
W8 towns

Nearby

Nearby states

Illinois7,433 take infantsWisconsin3,572 take infantsNebraska2,112 take infantsMissouri1,708 take infantsMinnesota484 take infantsSouth Dakota43 take infants

Questions

Questions about infant daycare in Iowa

How many daycares that take infants are in Iowa?

168 daycares that take infants are listed in 76 Iowa towns. A daycare without this tag may still take infants; ask.

Which Iowa town has the most daycares that take infants?

Ankeny, with 11 listed. Next are Cedar Rapids (11) and West Des Moines (10).

How much does infant daycare cost in Iowa?

In the middle Iowa county, full-time infant care at a center cost $160 a week in 2022 (U.S. Department of Labor). Each town page shows its own county.

What does a safe-sleep citation mean?

It means a state inspector found a sleep rule not met on a visit, for example a baby put down on their side, a crib with blankets or toys, or babies left without a check. Open a listing to read its visits, and ask the daycare what it changed.

How young a baby do daycares in Iowa take?

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

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.