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Montessori

Montessori Schools in California

A Montessori school teaches in mixed-age rooms where children choose their own work; the name is not protected, so ask how closely each school follows the method. Montessori programs that post tuition in California charge a median of $341 a week for full-time preschool (2026).

Montessori schools listed
1,064
towns
310
towns have their own Montessori schools page
128
of all California daycares
4%

Map of California: each dot is a town with Montessori schools, sized by how many are listed

Montessori
What puts a daycare on this listIts name or it describes a Montessori program.The word Montessori is not protected, so any school may use it; ask whether lead teachers hold a Montessori credential.

Montessori

What Montessori school costs in California

Montessori preschool tuition posted on daycare websites in California, per week (2026)
$341
The median of 38 daycares that post a full-time rate; half post between $287 and $458. Posted rates run above the 2022 survey: they are newer, and mostly from centers.
Preschool-age care at a center, per week, in the middle California county (2022)
$190
The median of 58 county medians, from $145 in the lowest county to $477 in the highest.

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

California

Largest towns for Montessori schools in California

San Jose43 schoolsSan Francisco40 schoolsLos Angeles33 schoolsFremont29 schoolsIrvine29 schoolsSan Diego21 schoolsOakland18 schoolsSacramento18 schoolsSan Mateo13 schoolsLake Forest12 schoolsSunnyvale12 schoolsMilpitas11 schools

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 a Montessori school in California

  1. 1

    Ask about credentials

    Ask whether lead teachers hold a Montessori credential, such as AMI or AMS training, and from which training center.

  2. 2

    Watch a work period

    A Montessori room has a long, quiet work period with children choosing materials. Ask to observe one.

  3. 3

    Check the license

    Listings show the state license and, where the state publishes it, the inspection record. Where no license record is matched yet, the listing says so.

  4. 4

    Ask about cost and hours

    Many Montessori programs run half days. Ask about full-day and extended-day options and fees.

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 310 California towns with Montessori schools, A to Z

A15 towns
B12 towns
C33 towns
D9 towns
E12 towns
F13 towns
G6 towns
H8 towns
I2 towns
J2 towns
K2 towns
L29 towns
M23 towns
N9 towns
O8 towns
P19 towns
R22 towns
S49 towns
T10 towns
U3 towns
V10 towns
W13 towns
Y1 town

Nearby

Nearby states

Oregon161 schoolsArizona117 schoolsNevada21 schools

Questions

Questions about Montessori schools in California

How many Montessori schools are in California?

1,064 Montessori schools are listed in 310 California towns. The word Montessori is not protected, so any school may use it; ask whether lead teachers hold a Montessori credential.

Which California town has the most Montessori schools?

San Jose, with 43 listed. Next are San Francisco (40) and Los Angeles (33).

What is the difference between Montessori and daycare?

A Montessori school follows Maria Montessori's method: mixed-age rooms, hands-on materials and long blocks of time where children choose their work. A daycare may follow any approach. Many Montessori schools are licensed as child care, and some run full days for working parents.

How much does Montessori preschool cost?

Montessori programs that post their tuition charge a median of $280 a week for full-time preschool across the US (247 programs, 2026). Half-day programs cost less; ask each school.

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.