Sherman Oaks anchors the southeastern San Fernando Valley daycare market, with the Santa Monica Mountains to the south and Studio City to the east. The mix of single-family blocks south of Ventura, mid-rise apartments along Ventura Boulevard, and the redeveloped Sherman Oaks Galleria corner supports a long-running rotation of cooperative nursery schools, church-housed preschools, Montessori programs, and Title 22 family child care homes. LAUSD's Universal Transitional Kindergarten rollout has reshaped the year a child turns four for families inside Local District Northwest.
In 2026 dollars, full-time center-based daycare in Sherman Oaks runs roughly $2,050 to $2,400 per month for infants and roughly $1,700 to $2,000 per month for preschool-age children, drawing on the National Database of Childcare Prices for Los Angeles County and on CCRC rate work for the San Fernando Valley service area. Title 22 family child care is well represented in the Valley and prices in the $1,500 to $1,750 per month range for infants. Nanny shares run $1,500 to $1,800 per child per month and account for a meaningful share of how Sherman Oaks families piece the infant year together.
The infant premium tracks the Title 22 ratio rule: one teacher to four children under 24 months under CCR 101216.5, with a maximum group size of 12 infants per room. Sherman Oaks' Ventura Boulevard commercial rent is below Santa Monica and Beverly Hills but well above the inland Valley, and the credentialed-infant-teacher labor pool is shared with Studio City, North Hollywood, and Encino. Families who can wait to enroll at 24 months commonly see a $300 to $600 monthly drop when a room transitions to the toddler one-to-six ratio.
| Sherman Oaks sub-area | Infant, center | Preschool, center | Family child care |
|---|---|---|---|
| South of the Boulevard | $2,250–$2,400 / month | $1,850–$2,000 / month | $1,600–$1,750 / month |
| Ventura Boulevard corridor | $2,200–$2,350 / month | $1,800–$1,950 / month | $1,550–$1,700 / month |
| North of Ventura (residential) | $2,100–$2,250 / month | $1,750–$1,900 / month | $1,500–$1,650 / month |
| Sherman Oaks Galleria-adjacent | $2,050–$2,200 / month | $1,700–$1,850 / month | $1,500–$1,650 / month |
Sherman Oaks sits inside LAUSD Local District Northwest, alongside Studio City, North Hollywood, Encino, Tarzana, Reseda, and West Hills. California's Universal Transitional Kindergarten expansion under SB 130 reached all four-year-olds for the 2025-2026 school year, with eligibility set at children who turn four by September 1. LAUSD runs UTK at a wide network of elementary schools and at standalone Early Education Centers. The neighborhood elementary schools most Sherman Oaks families enroll into for UTK include Kester Avenue, Riverside Drive Charter, Sherman Oaks Elementary Charter, Hesby Oaks (K-8), and Dixie Canyon Community Charter, with LAUSD attendance area boundaries and charter lotteries determining which seat a family is offered.
UTK is free and follows the LAUSD school-year calendar. Dismissal is typically around 1:30 to 2:00 p.m. with no on-site after-care at most elementary sites, so working families pair UTK with a private after-school program, a part-time nanny, or LAUSD's Beyond the Bell after-school offerings where available. The after-care arrangement, not the UTK seat itself, drives the working family's monthly budget in the year a child turns four.
Heads up. Several Sherman Oaks elementary options (Sherman Oaks Elementary Charter, Riverside Drive Charter, Dixie Canyon) are affiliated charter schools with their own enrollment processes alongside or instead of standard LAUSD attendance-area enrollment. A UTK seat at an LAUSD neighborhood school is not a kindergarten guarantee at one of these charters, and families on the charter path will apply through the school's own lottery for the kindergarten year.
California's three-stage CalWORKs child care system covers families on or recently exiting CalWORKs cash aid. Stages 1, 2, and 3 are time-limited, with Stage 2 carrying families up to two years post-CalWORKs and Stage 3 picking up afterwards subject to income eligibility. Outside CalWORKs, the Alternative Payment program serves income-eligible families up to 85 percent of the state median income. In the San Fernando Valley, AP vouchers are administered by Child Care Resource Center (CCRC), which covers Sherman Oaks along with Studio City, North Hollywood, Van Nuys, Encino, and the broader Valley. A Sherman Oaks family applies through CCRC for the AP voucher and through LAUSD or a California State Preschool Program contractor for a Title 5 preschool seat.
Three federal tools stack on top of any AP voucher or UTK 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. California adds the refundable Young Child Tax Credit and the state Child and Dependent Care Expenses Credit. A two-earner Sherman Oaks 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 several hundred more available through the California credit stack depending on income and child count.
$1,850–$2,000 / month (preschool)
Long-running parent cooperative nursery school in a residential pocket south of Ventura. Mixed-age Threes and Fours. Required parent work-day commitment keeps tuition below the southeastern Valley private average.
$1,900–$2,000 / month (preschool)
Two- through four-year-old preschool with half- and full-day options. Reggio-inspired programming with a strong reputation for transition-to-kindergarten support at LAUSD and charter neighborhood schools.
$2,250–$2,400 / month (toddler)
Toddler and Primary classrooms on a residential side street. AMS-affiliated. Half- and full-day options. Year-round calendar with two short closing weeks. Long-running Toddler waitlist.
$2,200–$2,350 / month (infant)
Infant through Pre-K near the Hazeltine corridor. Twelve-month calendar. Long infant waitlist. Quality Counts California rated. Bilingual Spanish-English programming in the Twos and Threes rooms.
$2,100–$2,250 / month (infant)
Mid-size center north of Ventura with a long-running tie to the Hesby Oaks K-8 school community. Twelve-month calendar. Mixed-age Pre-K room and a strong transition-to-kindergarten reputation.
Sliding-scale via CCRC · $2,050–$2,200 (private)
Mixed-funding center near the Sherman Oaks Galleria. Accepts CCRC AP vouchers and California State Preschool Program contracts. Bilingual Spanish-English Pre-K room and long-running community ties.
Listings reflect editorial picks, not paid placements, and pricing is the licensed published rate before any AP voucher or federal and California tax credit. Full Sherman Oaks listings directory is in progress.
Walk through the cost calculator to model your Sherman Oaks year with the FSA, the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit, and the California stack factored in. Read our California Universal TK explainer for the SB 130 rollout and the enrollment timeline, the LA cost overview, the broader cost pillar, and our nanny-share guide if you're weighing that route through the infant year. For neighboring Valley neighborhoods, see Studio City daycare and Encino daycare, or step back to all Los Angeles.
Neighborhood-by-neighborhood LA listings, UTK in LAUSD and Valley charters, and the AP voucher network.
Read → CostCitywide tuition ranges with FSA, the federal credit, and the California stack worked out.
Read → UTKThe SB 130 rollout, district eligibility rules, and how UTK changes the year a child turns four.
Read →