Skip to content
DaycarePal
Infant care

Infant Daycare in Missouri

Most Missouri daycares that take infants accept babies from 6 weeks or younger, by the ages on their state record.

daycares that take infants listed
1,708
towns
314
towns have their own infant daycare page
139
of all Missouri daycares
65%

Map of Missouri: 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 Missouri: ages, costs and safe-sleep inspections

the most common youngest age on the state record in Missouri
From 6 weeks
Of the 1,700 daycares here whose state record gives a starting age, 1,660 take babies from 6 weeks or younger and 762 from birth.
Infant tuition posted on daycare websites in Missouri, per week (2026)
$308
The median of 42 daycares that post a full-time rate; half post between $245 and $364. Posted rates run above the 2022 survey: they are newer, and mostly from centers.
of visited Missouri infant programs had a safe-sleep rule cited since October 2023
4.5%
43 of the 948 Missouri daycares that take infants and had a state visit. A citation means the inspector found a sleep rule not met on that visit, for example how or where babies nap. Each listing shows its own visits.
of infant programs' websites say they provide meals
24%
Of the 462 websites we read for daycares that take infants in Missouri, 24% say meals are provided, 15% mention a parent app with photos or daily notes, and 3.5% mention cameras parents can watch. A website that does not say so may still offer it; ask.
Staff-to-child ratios for babies in MissouriDaycare cost in Missouri, by age and county

Posted rates: tuition that daycares publish on their own websites, 2026, full-time rates only, one rate per daycare.

Missouri

Largest towns for infant daycare in Missouri

St Louis295 take infantsKansas City129 take infantsColumbia60 take infantsSpringfield56 take infantsFlorissant30 take infantsJefferson City30 take infantsSt Charles28 take infantsO Fallon27 take infantsJoplin22 take infantsLees Summit22 take infantsSt Peters22 take infantsBlue Springs21 take infants

Programs

Programs in Missouri

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 daycares2,614
Take infants1,708
Child care centers2,046
Accept subsidy69
In-home daycares568
Christian & church daycares228
Montessori schools36
Preschools & pre-K2,217
24-hour daycare69
Night daycare1,980
Early morning daycare2,184
Part-time daycare135
Drop-in daycare17
After-school care2,194
Bilingual daycare11
Head Start207

The Missouri state record

Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Childhood licenses daycares in Missouri.

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 2023
Cited rules
Each cited rule, in the state's own wording
Search the Missouri state records

Before you enroll

Choosing infant care in Missouri

  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.

Missouri

Cost, inspections and ratios in Missouri

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

A to Z

All 314 Missouri towns with infant daycare, A to Z

A11 towns
B27 towns
C33 towns
D10 towns
E13 towns
F13 towns
G13 towns
H22 towns
I3 towns
J7 towns
K9 towns
L19 towns
M25 towns
N8 towns
O10 towns
P20 towns
R6 towns
S32 towns
T6 towns
U4 towns
V4 towns
W18 towns
Z1 town

Nearby

Nearby states

Illinois7,433 take infantsNebraska2,112 take infantsOklahoma2,055 take infantsTennessee1,470 take infantsKentucky1,085 take infantsArkansas963 take infantsIowa168 take infantsKansas161 take infants

Questions

Questions about infant daycare in Missouri

How many daycares that take infants are in Missouri?

1,708 daycares that take infants are listed in 314 Missouri towns. A daycare without this tag may still take infants; ask.

Which Missouri town has the most daycares that take infants?

St Louis, with 295 listed. Next are Kansas City (129) and Columbia (60).

How much does infant daycare cost in Missouri?

Daycares that post their rates online in Missouri charge a median of $308 a week for an infant in 2026 (42 daycares). 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. Since October 2023, 4.5% of visited Missouri infant programs had one cited. Open a listing to read its visits, and ask the daycare what it changed.

How young a baby do daycares in Missouri take?

Most often from 6 weeks: of the 1,700 daycares in Missouri whose state record gives a starting age, 1,660 take babies from 6 weeks or younger and 1,690 from 3 months or younger. A daycare's own minimum can be older than its license allows, so ask.

Is there newborn daycare in Missouri?

Yes. 762 daycares in Missouri list ages starting at birth or age 0 on the state record. Ask each one the youngest age it takes now and whether it has an infant opening.

Who licenses daycares in Missouri?

Missouri Department of Elementary and Secondary Education, Office of Childhood licenses daycares in Missouri. It publishes its inspections and the rules it cited, and we copy them onto each listing.