A short, honest guide to San Francisco daycare.
San Francisco consistently ranks among the three most expensive daycare markets in the country, along with Manhattan and Washington, DC. The flip side: California has rigorous licensing, San Francisco has unusually strong public preschool funding, and Bay Area parents have meaningful subsidy options. This page tries to make the bargain easier to evaluate before you tour.
PreK SF
PreK SF (formerly Preschool for All) is San Francisco's universal preschool program for four-year-old residents, funded through Proposition C and administered by the Office of Early Care and Education. Families earning under a generous income threshold also qualify for free care through the Early Learning Scholarship for younger children. Applications are managed through a coordinated enrollment portal, and tuition-free seats are available at SFUSD school sites and community partner centers. Read our PreK SF walkthrough.
Source: San Francisco Office of Early Care and Education, 2024-2025 enrollment data. PreK SF and Early Learning Scholarship together serve roughly 4,000 children each year across SFUSD and community-based partner sites.
California Quality Counts
Quality Counts California is the state's quality rating and improvement system, scoring participating programs on a 1 to 5 tier scale. Tier 4 and Tier 5 programs operate above state minimum on staff qualifications, ratios, learning environment, and family engagement. San Francisco subsidy contracts increasingly require Tier 3 or higher.
California licensing and ratios
California requires 1:4 for infants under twenty-four months, 1:6 for ages two to three, and 1:12 for ages three to five in licensed child care centers. Every legal daycare in California is licensed by the Community Care Licensing Division of the Department of Social Services. Every provider in our directory is cross-checked against that database monthly.
Where SF parents tend to overpay
- Pacific Heights and Marina premium centers when a Sunset or Bernal Heights Quality Counts Tier 5 program runs $400 to $800 less per month.
- Add-on enrichment fees (Mandarin immersion, music, gymnastics) marketed as optional but quietly standard.
- Paying full private preschool tuition for a four-year-old when a PreK SF seat would cost nothing. Worth checking before you commit.
Financial help
In addition to PreK SF, working families up to a state-set income threshold may qualify for an Alternative Payment Program voucher (APP) through the California Department of Social Services. San Francisco-specific programs include the Early Learning Scholarship and Family Fee Assistance. 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 Bay Area income levels.
Before your first tour, download the free DaycareSquare comparison checklist and the tour questions list.
