This directory lists 12,218 licensed child care centers with 685,184 licensed places. A licensed place is the most children a center may care for at one time; it is not the number enrolled. The last column counts single-license centers and centers for mildly ill children. Columns after the number of centers are licensed places.
| County | Centers | All places | Infant | Preschool | School-age | Other licenses |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Los Angeles | 2,914 | 168,981 | 11,883 | 131,638 | 15,504 | 9,956 |
| Orange | 1,014 | 65,542 | 4,508 | 44,720 | 13,137 | 3,177 |
| San Diego | 993 | 59,535 | 5,161 | 41,150 | 9,488 | 3,736 |
| Santa Clara | 630 | 42,539 | 3,259 | 28,444 | 5,800 | 5,036 |
| Alameda | 623 | 36,946 | 2,379 | 25,821 | 5,404 | 3,342 |
| Sacramento | 568 | 30,325 | 2,516 | 19,346 | 6,156 | 2,307 |
| San Bernardino | 519 | 26,960 | 2,027 | 20,673 | 3,502 | 758 |
| Riverside | 500 | 28,666 | 1,986 | 20,739 | 3,532 | 2,409 |
| Contra Costa | 479 | 30,033 | 2,087 | 16,647 | 8,666 | 2,633 |
| San Francisco | 364 | 18,712 | 1,652 | 13,968 | 1,805 | 1,287 |
| Fresno | 351 | 15,704 | 1,099 | 12,231 | 1,652 | 722 |
| San Mateo | 347 | 23,030 | 1,528 | 13,980 | 6,602 | 920 |
| Ventura | 248 | 15,307 | 1,158 | 10,731 | 2,521 | 897 |
| San Joaquin | 212 | 10,440 | 602 | 7,652 | 1,217 | 969 |
| Kern | 208 | 11,260 | 605 | 8,626 | 1,101 | 928 |
| Placer | 164 | 11,437 | 846 | 4,625 | 5,774 | 192 |
| Santa Barbara | 149 | 6,835 | 662 | 5,318 | 755 | 100 |
| Stanislaus | 143 | 6,187 | 523 | 4,767 | 65 | 832 |
| Sonoma | 133 | 6,739 | 357 | 4,403 | 1,020 | 959 |
| Marin | 132 | 6,977 | 378 | 5,195 | 1,232 | 172 |
| Solano | 129 | 6,256 | 540 | 4,916 | 740 | 60 |
| Monterey | 118 | 5,260 | 575 | 4,357 | 0 | 328 |
| Tulare | 104 | 5,343 | 130 | 4,847 | 47 | 319 |
| Merced | 104 | 4,280 | 310 | 3,062 | 418 | 490 |
| San Luis Obispo | 96 | 4,265 | 274 | 2,675 | 897 | 419 |
| Santa Cruz | 94 | 4,315 | 254 | 2,304 | 1,421 | 336 |
| Yolo | 82 | 3,893 | 283 | 2,395 | 832 | 383 |
| Butte | 81 | 3,102 | 343 | 2,257 | 149 | 353 |
| El Dorado | 78 | 2,838 | 328 | 2,186 | 136 | 188 |
| Shasta | 60 | 2,216 | 241 | 1,804 | 74 | 97 |
| Madera | 56 | 2,074 | 82 | 1,776 | 216 | 0 |
| Humboldt | 49 | 1,685 | 244 | 1,308 | 52 | 81 |
| Imperial | 48 | 2,432 | 113 | 2,180 | 60 | 79 |
| Napa | 42 | 1,619 | 144 | 1,475 | 0 | 0 |
| Nevada | 40 | 1,314 | 108 | 863 | 147 | 196 |
| Mendocino | 38 | 1,291 | 62 | 1,125 | 104 | 0 |
| Kings | 36 | 1,614 | 60 | 1,321 | 139 | 94 |
| Sutter | 34 | 1,477 | 100 | 1,125 | 118 | 134 |
| Yuba | 27 | 1,132 | 93 | 905 | 30 | 104 |
| Tehama | 27 | 736 | 90 | 646 | 0 | 0 |
| Calaveras | 19 | 499 | 48 | 291 | 160 | 0 |
| Tuolumne | 18 | 1,054 | 40 | 514 | 500 | 0 |
| Lake | 16 | 417 | 52 | 365 | 0 | 0 |
| San Benito | 16 | 781 | 20 | 613 | 148 | 0 |
| Siskiyou | 16 | 470 | 33 | 417 | 20 | 0 |
| Colusa | 15 | 464 | 140 | 284 | 0 | 40 |
| Inyo | 13 | 296 | 0 | 250 | 23 | 23 |
| Amador | 12 | 305 | 24 | 183 | 0 | 98 |
| Glenn | 10 | 244 | 36 | 174 | 0 | 34 |
| Modoc | 8 | 262 | 12 | 190 | 60 | 0 |
| Del Norte | 8 | 216 | 30 | 158 | 28 | 0 |
| Lassen | 8 | 249 | 0 | 189 | 60 | 0 |
| Plumas | 8 | 209 | 4 | 205 | 0 | 0 |
| Mono | 6 | 135 | 24 | 111 | 0 | 0 |
| Mariposa | 4 | 86 | 0 | 60 | 0 | 26 |
| Trinity | 3 | 80 | 0 | 28 | 28 | 24 |
| Alpine | 2 | 50 | 20 | 30 | 0 | 0 |
| Sierra | 2 | 70 | 0 | 30 | 0 | 40 |
Source: California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division, checked in November 2026. Figures are counted from the centers listed in this directory. Sources & method