Daycare near you: what it costs and how to pay for it
Daycare prices for every county, each state's program that helps pay, free Head Start, and how to check a license. For California, Colorado, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas, every licensed or registered program on the state's list, city by city.
County prices from the U.S. Department of Labor (2022) · Subsidy programs checked October 2026
Short answer
Daycare by state
Each state page has every county's prices, the subsidy program and how to apply, Head Start, and how to check a license.
| State | Infant, center | Subsidy limit, family of 3 |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | $136 | $46,476 |
| Alaska | $362 | $74,304 |
| Arizona | $270 | $43,980 |
| Arkansas | $148 (2021) | $64,460 |
| California | $379 | $93,420 |
| Colorado | $377 | $49,303 |
| Connecticut | $350 | $77,157 |
| Delaware | $280 | $61,476 |
| District of Columbia | $490 | Check |
| Florida | $225 | $47,615 |
| Georgia | $205 | $37,208 |
| Hawaii | $366 | $70,404 |
| Idaho | $166 | $34,644 |
| Illinois | $278 | $59,964 |
| Indiana | – | Check |
| Iowa | $166 | $42,648 |
| Kansas | $157 | $76,656 |
| Kentucky | $151 | $72,060 |
| Louisiana | $153 | $68,400 |
| Maine | $230 | $118,922 |
| Maryland | $327 | $94,026 |
| Massachusetts | $462 | $69,701 |
| Michigan | $173 | $53,304 |
| Minnesota | $390 | $56,850 |
| Mississippi | $119 | $58,784 |
| Missouri | $215 (2020) | $39,972 |
| Montana | $221 | $49,308 |
| Nebraska | $244 | $49,308 |
| Nevada | $276 | $34,680 |
| New Hampshire | $300 | $104,660 |
| New Jersey | $314 | $53,300 |
| New Mexico | – | Check |
| New York | $300 | $95,397 |
| North Carolina | $203 | $53,304 |
| North Dakota | $214 | $81,840 |
| Ohio | $295 | $38,643 |
| Oklahoma | $215 | Check |
| Oregon | $329 | $53,304 |
| Pennsylvania | $218 (2020) | $54,640 |
| Rhode Island | $290 | $69,557 |
| South Carolina | $199 | $73,212 |
| South Dakota | $150 | $55,704 |
| Tennessee | $212 | $73,344 |
| Texas | $185 | $77,315 |
| Utah | $226 | $84,012 |
| Vermont | $313 (2021) | $153,240 |
| Virginia | $247 | $95,680 |
| Washington | $357 | $70,212 |
| West Virginia | $167 | $64,732 |
| Wisconsin | $293 | $54,636 |
| Wyoming | $161 | $46,632 |
Sources: U.S. Department of Labor, National Database of Childcare Prices; National Women's Law Center; Office of Head Start
“Check” means the state doesn't publish a single dollar limit we could confirm; the state page explains why and links to the agency. A dash means no price data.
Licensed daycare lists by city
For California, Colorado, New York, Pennsylvania and Texas, we load the state's own list of active licensed programs (in New York and Texas, licensed or registered). 1,542 cities with 5 or more programs have a page with every program's type, ages, capacity, phone and license number.
All cities in California · All cities in Colorado · All cities in New York · All cities in Pennsylvania · All cities in Texas
How do I find daycare near me?
Know the going rate
Your state page shows the median weekly price for infants, toddlers and preschoolers in your county, at centers and at home daycares.Check whether you qualify for help first
Subsidies and Head Start can have waiting lists, so apply before you need the spot. Your state page has the income limit and the link to apply.Make a short list of licensed programs
Use your city page where we have one, or the state's own child care search, linked from every state page.Look up each license before you tour
The state record shows the ages and number of children a program is licensed for and its inspection history.
Daycare questions
How much does daycare cost?
Full-time infant care at a U.S. child care center had a median price of $243 a week, about $12,647 a year, in 2022, the latest year of the U.S. Department of Labor's National Database of Childcare Prices. A tenth of counties were at $113 a week or less and a tenth at $282 or more. Prices are lower for toddlers and preschoolers. They aren't adjusted for inflation, so expect higher rates today. Your state page has every county.
How do I get help paying for daycare?
Every state and DC runs a child care subsidy funded by the federal Child Care and Development Fund. Under federal law, a child under 13 can qualify when family income is no more than 85% of state median income and the parents are working or attending job training or school. Children in protective services can also qualify. States can set lower income limits, and most do. For a family of three, state entry limits run from $34,644 to $153,240 a year. Your state page names the program and links to its application.
Is there free daycare?
Head Start (ages 3 to 5) and Early Head Start (pregnancy to age 3) are free for families with income at or below the federal poverty line, or on TANF or SSI, among other ways to qualify. The Office of Head Start lists 14,198 centers nationwide.
How do I check that a daycare is licensed?
Every state has a child care search where you can look up a program's license. Your state page links to it through Childcare.gov, along with inspection reports where the state posts them. Where we load the state's licensing list, our city pages show each program's license number and a link to its state record.
What's the difference between a daycare center and a home daycare?
A center runs in a commercial or school building with several classrooms. A licensed family child care home is care in the provider's own home, usually for a smaller mixed-age group. Infant care at a home daycare cost less than at a center in 47 of the 48 states with both prices (2022). Both are licensed and inspected by the state.
Are there tax breaks for daycare?
For 2026, a dependent care FSA through your employer can shelter up to $7,500 of child care costs from tax, and the Child and Dependent Care Credit pays up to 50% of up to $3,000 in expenses for one child or $6,000 for two or more. The same dollars can't count for both.
How we built this.County prices are the U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau's National Database of Childcare Prices, built from state market-rate surveys; we show its 2022 medians (an earlier year where a state has no 2022 survey) without adjusting for inflation. Subsidy limits are each state's entry limit for a family of three, from the state's own chart or the National Women's Law Center's 2025 survey. Program lists are the state licensing agencies' own data, limited to active licenses, loaded October 2026.We don't rate or rank providers, and nobody pays to be listed.
Sources
- 1.Community Care Licensing Facilities (CDSS_CCL_Facilities) California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division. Accessed October 16, 2026.
- 2.Colorado Licensed Child Care Facilities Report Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC). Accessed October 16, 2026.
- 3.Child Care Regulated Programs New York State Office of Children and Family Services, Division of Child Care Services. Accessed October 16, 2026.
- 4.Active NYC Health Code Regulated Child Care Programs New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. Accessed October 16, 2026.
- 5.Child Care Providers including Early Learning Programs Listing Current Monthly Facility County Human Services Pennsylvania Department of Human Services, Office of Child Development and Early Learning (OCDEL). Accessed October 16, 2026.
- 6.HHSC CCL Daycare and Residential Operations Data Texas Health and Human Services Commission, Child Care Regulation. Accessed October 16, 2026.
- 7.National Database of Childcare Prices: 2008-2022 (Data File) U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau. Accessed October 9, 2026.
- 8.National Database of Childcare Prices Technical Report (September 2024) U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau. Accessed October 9, 2026.
- 9.National Database of Childcare Prices: State-Level Estimates and Affordability Rankings 2022 U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau. Accessed October 9, 2026.
- 10.National Database of Childcare Prices U.S. Department of Labor, Women's Bureau. Accessed October 9, 2026.
- 11.Warning Signs: State Child Care Assistance Policies 2025 National Women's Law Center. Accessed October 9, 2026.
- 12.CCDF Family Co-Payments by State (January 2025) Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Care. Accessed October 9, 2026.
- 13.CCDF Family Income Eligibility Levels by State (January 2025) Administration for Children and Families, Office of Child Care. Accessed October 9, 2026.
- 14.42 U.S. Code 9858n, Definitions (Child Care and Development Block Grant Act) Legal Information Institute, Cornell Law School (U.S. Code). Accessed October 9, 2026.
- 15.Publication 15-B (2026), Employer's Tax Guide to Fringe Benefits Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Accessed October 9, 2026.
Show all 16 sourcesShow fewer sources
- 16.One, Big, Beautiful Bill provisions: Child and Dependent Care Credit enhancement Internal Revenue Service (IRS). Accessed October 9, 2026.