Daycare directory · New Orleans, LA

Daycare in New Orleans.

Published ·Updated

340+ licensed providers across New Orleans, with verified 2026 tuition ranges, parent reviews, and a clearer path to subsidies and free Pre-K seats. Always free for families. Louisiana's LA 4 Pre-K can lower an Orleans Parish family's effective monthly bill by hundreds.

340+
Verified providers
$900
Starting monthly tuition
5 mo
Median infant waitlist
Browse New Orleans daycares → Estimate your cost
New Orleans French Quarter street with iron balconies
2026 cost overview

What daycare actually costs in New Orleans.

Tuition ranges are full-time, center-based monthly rates pulled from 340+ New Orleans providers and cross-checked against Louisiana the Education Licensing Division.

Infant (6 wk – 15 mo)
Infant care
$1,100 to $1,700
per month, full-time

Uptown and the Lower Garden District price near the top of the range. Mid-City, Gentilly, and Algiers family child cares come in $200 to $400 below.

Toddler (15 mo – 3 yr)
Toddler care
$950 to $1,450
per month, full-time

Louisiana licensing shifts ratios at 18 months. Type III centers (state-licensed and Louisiana-DOE rated) charge slightly more than Type II in exchange for better staffing and quality data.

Preschool (3 – 5 yr)
Preschool
$900 to $1,350
per month, full-time

Louisiana's LA 4 Pre-K and NSECD programs fund free full-day seats for income-eligible four-year-olds at participating daycares and charter schools across Orleans Parish.

Sources: Louisiana Department of Education Early Childhood, Agenda for Children resource and referral, Child Care Aware of America 2025 Louisiana state report, DaycareSquare New Orleans operator survey (Q1 2026). Updated May 2026.

For a deeper breakdown by neighborhood, infant ratio, local subsidy program, and quality tier, see our New Orleans daycare cost page.

Featured providers

A sample of New Orleans daycares.

Eight illustrative examples of local daycares. A searchable directory of verified, state-licensed providers is rolling out — these examples show the local landscape for now.

Uptown Children's Garden
NAEYC accredited
Uptown Children's Garden
Uptown · 6 wk – 5 yr
From $1,650/mo
Garden District Preschool
Premium listing
Garden District Preschool
Garden District · 18 mo – 5 yr
From $1,500/mo
Mid-City Family Learning
Type III rated
Mid-City Family Learning
Mid-City · 12 wk – 5 yr
From $1,350/mo
Bywater Co-op
Cooperative
Bywater Co-op
Bywater · 12 mo – 4 yr
From $1,300/mo
Gentilly Early Learning
Premium listing
Gentilly Early Learning
Gentilly · 6 wk – 5 yr
From $1,150/mo
Algiers Point Daycare
Home-based
Algiers Point Daycare
Algiers · 6 mo – 5 yr
From $1,050/mo
Lakeview Christian Daycare
Faith-based
Lakeview Christian Daycare
Lakeview · 6 wk – 5 yr
From $1,250/mo
Orleans Parish LA 4 Pre-K
Free Pre-K
Orleans Parish LA 4 Pre-K
Multiple sites · 4 yr
From $0/mo (free)
See all 340+ New Orleans daycares →
By neighborhood

Daycare in your neighborhood.

New Orleans tuition can vary by hundreds of dollars per month across a few miles. These are the neighborhoods with the most active providers in our directory.

Uptown
58 daycares · From $1,300
Garden District
32 daycares · From $1,350
Lower Garden District
28 daycares · From $1,300
Mid-City
52 daycares · From $1,150
Marigny
24 daycares · From $1,250
Bywater
22 daycares · From $1,250
Gentilly
44 daycares · From $1,000
Lakeview
38 daycares · From $1,150
Algiers
36 daycares · From $950
Treme
20 daycares · From $1,100
Carrollton
26 daycares · From $1,200
New Orleans East
32 daycares · From $900

A short, honest guide to New Orleans daycare.

New Orleans operates one of the most diverse daycare markets in the South. Uptown and the Garden District anchor the high end with a cluster of Type III centers that hold national accreditations; Mid-City and Gentilly run a strong mid-market; Algiers and New Orleans East offer the city's most affordable licensed care. Louisiana's LA 4 program adds an extra layer: families can sometimes lower their effective monthly bill by hundreds of dollars once their four-year-old is enrolled in a free full-day seat at a participating daycare.

Louisiana licensing and ratios

Louisiana requires a 1:5 infant ratio, 1:7 for toddlers, and 1:14 for preschoolers in licensed centers. Type III centers (the state's highest licensing tier) are rated annually by the LA DOE on a Performance Profile, and the highest-rated programs commonly operate below those minimums. Every legal daycare in Louisiana is licensed by Louisiana Department of Education Licensing Division and listed on Louisiana's Child Care Search portal (childcaresearch.la.gov). Every provider in our directory is cross-checked against that source monthly.

Source: Louisiana Department of Education Licensing Division, 2025-2026 licensing data.

Where New Orleans parents tend to overpay

  • Premium centers when a comparable program a few neighborhoods over costs 15 to 25 percent less.
  • Add-on enrichment fees (music, language, sports) that quietly raise the monthly bill after enrollment.
  • Annual registration and supply fees that are not disclosed on the website. Ask for the all-in monthly figure before you tour.

Financial help

Working families earning under 85 percent of state median income may qualify for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). LA 4 and NSECD fund free full-day Pre-K seats for income-eligible four-year-olds at hundreds of participating Orleans Parish daycares and charter schools. All families can use the federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit and a Dependent Care FSA. Our tax credit explainer walks through the math at common New Orleans income levels.

Before your first tour, download the free DaycareSquare comparison checklist and the tour questions list for a side-by-side scoring sheet.

Related reading for New Orleans families

Frequently asked

Daycare in New Orleans.

How much does daycare cost in New Orleans?
Full-time center-based daycare in New Orleans runs $900 to $1,700 per month in 2026, depending on age and neighborhood. Premium centers cluster at the top of the range; family child care and moderate neighborhoods sit at the lower end.
How long is the waitlist for New Orleans daycare?
Our 2026 New Orleans operator survey found a median infant waitlist of five months. Flagship centers in the most in-demand neighborhoods can stretch longer. Toddler and preschool seats commonly turn over within one to three months across the city.
Who licenses daycares in Louisiana?
Every legal daycare in Louisiana is licensed by Louisiana Department of Education Licensing Division. Every provider in our directory is cross-checked against that database monthly.
What is the staff-to-child ratio in Louisiana daycares?
Louisiana requires a 1:5 infant ratio, 1:7 for toddlers, and 1:14 for preschoolers in licensed centers. Type III centers (the state's highest licensing tier) are rated annually by the LA DOE on a Performance Profile, and the highest-rated programs commonly operate below those minimums.
Can I get help paying for daycare in New Orleans?
Working families earning under 85 percent of state median income may qualify for the Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP). LA 4 and NSECD fund free full-day Pre-K seats for income-eligible four-year-olds at hundreds of participating Orleans Parish daycares and charter schools. All families can also use the federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit and a Dependent Care FSA. Read our tax credit explainer.
How do I tour a New Orleans daycare?
Use our free tour questions list and the DaycareSquare comparison checklist to score every tour on the same 27 questions. Most New Orleans centers offer in-person tours weekday mornings.
Keep going

Useful next steps.

Statewide

Daycare in Louisiana

Costs, licensing, and subsidy programs across all of Louisiana, not just New Orleans.

View state page → Free tool

New Orleans cost calculator

Plug in your ZIP, child age, and care type. Get your personal monthly range in about sixty seconds.

Try the calculator → Free download

Comparison checklist

Twenty-seven questions to ask at every tour, plus a side-by-side scoring sheet. PDF.

Get the checklist →
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