1,850+ licensed providers from the Westside to the San Gabriel Valley, with verified 2026 tuition ranges, parent reviews, and accurate waitlist signals. Built for parents, not for sponsors.
Tuition ranges are full-time, center-based monthly rates from 940+ LA-area providers, cross-checked against California Department of Social Services data.
Santa Monica, Beverly Hills, and Pacific Palisades cluster at the top. The Valley and East LA offer the broadest mid-priced options, often $1,650 to $2,100.
Toddler ratios in California are 1:6, which keeps prices roughly $250 to $400 below infant rates. Half-day and three-day schedules are widely available.
LAUSD's California State Preschool Program and the expanding Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) for four-year-olds can replace most of the preschool year.
Sources: California Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing, Child Care Aware of America 2025 California state report, DaycareSquare LA operator survey (Q1 2026). Updated May 2026.
Eight verified providers from across LA County. The full directory holds 1,850+ listings — filter by neighborhood, age, accreditation, and cost.
LA County tuition can swing $700 per month across a single freeway exit. These are the neighborhoods with the deepest inventory in our directory.
Los Angeles County is the largest single childcare market in the United States, with more than 11,000 licensed providers between centers and family child care homes. The price spread is also one of the widest in the country: a Pacific Palisades infant program can clear $3,200 per month while a thoughtful family child care in Glendale or Long Beach can deliver excellent care for closer to $1,400. We wrote this guide to help LA parents read that range honestly.
LA is a commute city. The right daycare in the wrong direction can quietly add forty-five minutes to your day, twice. Parents on the Westside, in the Valley, and in DTLA often face very different real-world options even when prices look similar on paper. Start by drawing a fifteen-minute radius around either your home or your workplace and filter the directory accordingly.
California has expanded Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) so that nearly all four-year-olds are eligible for a free, full-school-day program through LAUSD. The California State Preschool Program (CSPP) also covers part-day and full-day preschool for income-eligible three- and four-year-olds. For working parents below 85 percent of state median income, the Alternative Payment Program subsidizes a meaningful share of tuition at participating providers.
Our 2026 operator survey put the median LA infant waitlist at seven months. Premium Westside infant rooms can run nine to fifteen months. Pasadena, the Valley, and the East Side typically have shorter waitlists and more flexibility on start dates. Toddler and preschool seats turn over more quickly throughout the county.
For a structured way to compare what you find, use our free comparison checklist and the tour questions list. Our 2026 daycare cost guide and tax credit explainer cover the financial side in more depth.
Costs, licensing, UTK, and subsidy programs across all of California.
View state page → Free toolPlug in your ZIP, child age, and care type. Get your personal monthly range in about sixty seconds.
Try the calculator → Free downloadTwenty-seven questions to ask at every tour, plus a side-by-side scoring sheet. PDF.
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