Logan Square stretches from the Kennedy expressway in the south to Diversey in the north, anchored by the Illinois Centennial Monument at the boulevards' intersection and divided by the CTA Blue Line spine along Milwaukee Avenue. The neighborhood combines a long-running Puerto Rican and Mexican community with a younger, mixed-income family layer that has thickened since the 606 opened in 2015, and the daycare market reflects both populations: bilingual cooperative preschools, Montessori houses on the boulevards, and a deep bench of DCFS Part 406 family child care homes through Avondale and the Palmer Square pocket.
In 2026 dollars, full-time center-based daycare in Logan Square runs roughly $1,950 to $2,350 per month for infants and roughly $1,650 to $1,950 per month for preschool-age children, drawing on the National Database of Childcare Prices for Cook County and on Illinois Action for Children rate work for the Logan Square-Avondale service area. DCFS Part 406 family child care homes price in the $1,300 to $1,550 per month range for infants, with bilingual Spanish-English homes meaningfully represented. Nanny shares run $1,400 to $1,700 per child per month.
The infant premium tracks the Illinois ratio rule. Section 407.140 of 89 IAC sets the center infant ratio at one teacher to four children under 15 months, with a maximum group size of eight infants per room. Logan Square's boulevard storefronts and the credentialed-infant-teacher labor pool push the infant rate well above the toddler rate at the same center, but the gap is narrower here than in Lincoln Park or Lakeview because commercial rent on Logan Boulevard and Kedzie Boulevard is meaningfully lower than the lakefront corridors.
| Logan Square sub-area | Infant, center | Preschool, center | Family child care home |
|---|---|---|---|
| Logan Boulevard / Palmer Square | $2,200–$2,350 / month | $1,850–$1,950 / month | $1,450–$1,550 / month |
| Milwaukee Avenue corridor | $2,100–$2,250 / month | $1,750–$1,900 / month | $1,400–$1,500 / month |
| Kedzie Boulevard / north Logan | $2,000–$2,150 / month | $1,700–$1,850 / month | $1,350–$1,450 / month |
| Avondale border (south of Belmont) | $1,950–$2,100 / month | $1,650–$1,800 / month | $1,300–$1,400 / month |
Logan Square sits in CPS District 14, the Logan Square Network. Chicago Public Schools runs a free Universal Pre-K program for four-year-olds, with eligibility based on residency and the September 1 age cutoff. Universal Pre-K is offered at most neighborhood elementary schools and at community-based partner sites under the ISBE Preschool For All program. Enrollment runs through GoCPS, with a sibling-priority tier. Three-year-old PFA seats are income-eligibility-based, with priority for children below 100 percent of the federal poverty level and for children with an IEP.
The neighborhood CPS elementary schools serving Logan Square include Goethe Elementary at Rockwell and Wabansia, Brentano Math & Science Academy at Linden and Fairfield, Mozart Elementary, Funston Elementary, and Yates Elementary on the Avondale border. Goethe and Brentano historically offer PFA seats. Logan Square also draws meaningfully from the citywide bilingual programming at Reilly Elementary in Logan Square's northern fringe and at Inter-American Magnet School in Lakeview, which both administer Spanish-English dual-language Pre-K via the GoCPS magnet lottery.
Heads up. A Pre-K seat at a CPS neighborhood elementary school is not a kindergarten guarantee at the same school if the child is outside the attendance boundary. Inter-American Magnet School in Lakeview operates as a citywide magnet, so a Pre-K placement does not auto-promote to kindergarten and the family must re-enter the GoCPS lottery.
Illinois' Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP) is the state's CCDF voucher. CCAP covers families up to 225 percent of the federal poverty level under the 2024 Smart Start Illinois expansion. In Cook County, Illinois Action for Children is the intake agency. A Logan Square family applies to IAFC for the CCAP voucher and separately through GoCPS for any CPS Pre-K or PFA seat. CCAP can pay licensed centers, licensed family child care homes, and licensed-exempt relative caregivers under the state's rate schedule, which matters in Logan Square because licensed-exempt grandparent or relative care is a common configuration through the infant year.
Three federal tools stack on top of any CCAP voucher or CPS Pre-K placement: the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit on IRS Form 2441, the Dependent Care FSA (up to $5,000 per family per year of pre-tax savings), and the federal Child Tax Credit. Illinois adds the state Earned Income Credit at a percentage of the federal EITC and, for income-eligible families, the Smart Start Workforce grants that route through providers rather than parents. A two-earner Logan Square household paying the full private rate typically recovers $1,500 to $2,100 in combined federal tax savings on the $5,000 FSA alone, with additional savings via the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit and the state EITC depending on income.
$1,750–$1,900 / month (preschool)
Long-running parent cooperative preschool on a Palmer Square side street. Mixed-age Threes and Fours. Required parent work-day commitment keeps tuition below the boulevard private average.
$2,100–$2,250 / month (toddler)
AMI-affiliated Toddler and Primary classrooms in a converted greystone on Kedzie Boulevard. Half- and full-day options. Year-round calendar with two short closing weeks.
$2,250–$2,350 / month (infant)
Infant through Pre-K on a Palmer Square corner. Twelve-month calendar. ExceleRate Illinois Silver rated. Mixed-age Pre-K classroom and a steady transition-to-kindergarten reputation at Brentano and Goethe.
$1,950–$2,100 / month (infant)
Mixed-age infant through Pre-K center on the Belmont corridor south of the Avondale line. Twelve-month calendar. Lower-cost option for families priced out of the boulevard centers.
Sliding-scale via Illinois Action for Children · $1,800–$1,900 (private)
Mixed-funding Spanish-English bilingual preschool with a long community history along Milwaukee. Accepts CCAP vouchers and an ISBE Preschool For All contract. Strong transitions to Reilly and Brentano.
$1,400–$1,550 / month (infant)
A network of DCFS-licensed Part 406 family child care homes along the Logan Boulevard residential blocks. Each home licensed for up to eight children with a maximum of three under two years. Several homes operate in Spanish.
Listings reflect editorial picks, not paid placements, and pricing is the licensed published rate before any CCAP voucher or federal and Illinois tax credit. Full Logan Square listings directory is in progress.
Walk through the cost calculator to model your Logan Square year with the FSA, the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit, and the Illinois stack factored in. Read our subsidized daycare explainer for how CCDF and PFA work nationally, the Chicago cost overview, the broader cost pillar, and our nanny-share guide if you're weighing that route through the infant year. For neighboring west-side pockets, see Wicker Park daycare and Bucktown daycare, or step back to all Chicago.
Neighborhood-by-neighborhood Chicago listings, CPS Universal Pre-K and PFA, and the CCAP voucher.
Read → CostCitywide tuition ranges with FSA, the federal credit, and the Illinois stack worked out.
Read → SubsidiesHow CCDF, Head Start, and state Pre-K programs work, and how Illinois Action for Children fits in.
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