Independent family guide · California

Your child's day starts with a place you have checked

A directory of 12,218 licensed child care centers in California, from the state's licensing records: address, phone, age group and licensed places for each. Free, no sign-up, and nobody will call you.

Largest cities:
Illustration: children play with blocks, a tricycle and a kite on the lawn of a small preschool while a teacher waves
Official state recordsEnglish · Русский · Español

Only official records

Numbers come from the State of California's licensing record.

Nobody will call you

No forms and no sign-up. You call a center yourself, when you are ready.

Positions are not for sale

Centers do not pay to appear higher. The order depends only on the sorting you choose.

Centers

Centers in alphabetical order

Already gathered for you

From the public files of California's Community Care Licensing Division.

12,218child care centers
685,184licensed places
827cities
12,218centers checked against the state record

How to choose, in three steps

  1. Find centers near you

    Type your city or ZIP code and pick your child's age group.

  2. Check the license kind and the places

    Make sure the license fits your child's age and that the center has room. Ask to see the license itself.

  3. Call and visit

    Ask about hours and fees, then go and see the rooms and the yard yourself.

Illustration: a child runs with a kite past a slide and a big tree

Kinds of license

The state licenses a center for certain ages. One building can hold two licenses, for example infants and preschool.

Infant center1,958

Infant care centers

Children under 2 yearsPreschool center8,104

Preschools and child care centers

Preschool age: from about 2 years until schoolSchool-age center1,505

School-age child care

School-age children, before and after school
Single-license center647

Single-license centers

One license for several age groups. Ask the center which ages it takes.

Centers for mildly ill children in the list: 4.

Guides for parents

Kinds of child care licenses in California and the ages they cover

Infant center, preschool-age center, school-age center and the single license: what each one means, and which child care is not in this directory at all.

How to choose a child care center in California: a short checklist

Six steps for parents: decide what you need, make a short list, check the license, call, visit, and read the paperwork before the first day.

Reports

Child care centers and licensed places in California, by county

How many licensed child care centers each California county has and how many children they are licensed for, split by age group.

Infant care in California by county: centers and licensed places

Licensed infant centers (children under 2) in each California county: how many there are, how many places they hold and what share of all center places that is.

Largest cities

Anaheim 91Bakersfield 137Berkeley 63Chula Vista 83Compton 63Concord 64El Cajon 55Elk Grove 78Fontana 53Fremont 91Fresno 211Fullerton 52Huntington Beach 53Irvine 106Lancaster 66Long Beach 136Los Angeles 644Modesto 69Oakland 167Oceanside 62Palo Alto 55Pasadena 71Riverside 103Roseville 68Sacramento 288San Bernardino 75San Diego 357San Francisco 364San Jose 245San Mateo 59Santa Ana 96Santa Barbara 56Santa Monica 60Santa Rosa 58Stockton 104Sunnyvale 55Torrance 58Ventura 67Vista 58Whittier 53

All cities, by county