Dallas runs hotter on daycare prices than most of Texas, with the Park Cities and Preston Hollow setting the metro top and a meaningful gap between North Dallas and Oak Cliff. The Frisco and Plano edges of the metro are essentially a separate market priced like the inside of the Loop in Houston. Texas's full-day public pre-K and the regional CCS subsidy meaningfully change the math for the families they reach. This guide pulls the most recent Dallas County pricing, explains how DISD pre-K and the Texas CCS subsidy change the math, and shows where those ranges come from.
In 2026 dollars, full-time center-based daycare in Dallas runs roughly $1,300 to $2,100 per month for infants and roughly $1,100 to $1,725 per month for preschool-age children. Licensed home-based child care, regulated under 40 TAC Chapter 747, typically charges 20 to 30 percent less than centers in the same neighborhood. These ranges come from the National Database of Childcare Prices for Dallas County and the ChildCareGroup most recent market-rate survey, not single-point averages.
Infant care in Dallas typically prices 20 to 25 percent above preschool-age care because of staff-to-child ratio rules. Texas HHSC Child Care Regulation sets the infant ratio at 1:4 for centers, with a maximum group size of 10 for infants under 18 months. The arithmetic of paying multiple credentialed teachers across small infant rooms is what makes infant rooms the most expensive line item in any Dallas center's budget.
| Area | Infant, center | Preschool, center | Family child care |
|---|---|---|---|
| Highland Park, University Park, Preston Hollow | $1,875–$2,100 / month | $1,525–$1,725 / month | $1,325–$1,500 / month |
| North Dallas, Far North Dallas, Tollway corridor | $1,725–$1,950 / month | $1,425–$1,625 / month | $1,250–$1,425 / month |
| Plano, Frisco, Allen, McKinney | $1,675–$1,900 / month | $1,400–$1,600 / month | $1,225–$1,400 / month |
| Uptown, Oak Lawn, Knox-Henderson | $1,625–$1,850 / month | $1,350–$1,550 / month | $1,175–$1,350 / month |
| Lakewood, M Streets, East Dallas, Lake Highlands | $1,525–$1,750 / month | $1,275–$1,475 / month | $1,125–$1,300 / month |
| Bishop Arts, Kessler Park, Winnetka Heights | $1,450–$1,675 / month | $1,225–$1,425 / month | $1,075–$1,250 / month |
| Richardson, Garland, Carrollton, Farmers Branch | $1,425–$1,650 / month | $1,200–$1,400 / month | $1,050–$1,225 / month |
| Irving, Las Colinas, Coppell | $1,400–$1,625 / month | $1,175–$1,375 / month | $1,025–$1,200 / month |
| Oak Cliff, Pleasant Grove, West Dallas | $1,325–$1,525 / month | $1,125–$1,300 / month | $975–$1,150 / month |
| South Dallas, Far Southeast Dallas, DeSoto, Lancaster | $1,300–$1,500 / month | $1,100–$1,275 / month | $950–$1,125 / month |
These ranges represent licensed care at established providers, not subsidized seats. Highland Park, University Park, and Preston Hollow sit at the top of the metro range. South Dallas and Oak Cliff sit near the bottom, though still above the rural Texas median. The Frisco-Plano-Allen corridor runs at North Dallas pricing because of demand from finance, tech, and corporate headquarters families along the Tollway and the Sam Rayburn Tollway.
If your child is four during the school year, Texas's full-day public pre-K materially changes the math. Dallas Independent School District operates one of the largest pre-K programs in the state, with free full-day seats for eligible four-year-olds at every elementary campus and dedicated three-year-old pre-K at a smaller set of campuses with Title I or state-grant funding. Highland Park ISD, Richardson ISD, Plano ISD, Frisco ISD, Allen ISD, and the other 13 Greater Dallas districts follow the same TEA eligibility criteria.
Texas pre-K eligibility includes household income under 185 percent of the federal poverty level, English learner status, homelessness, foster care, military-connected family status, and dependents of Star of Texas Award recipients. Some Greater Dallas districts also offer tuition-based pre-K for non-eligible four-year-olds on a space-available basis; current rates are posted on each district's Early Childhood page.
Heads up. Texas pre-K does not cover the full working week or year. Most DISD pre-K runs roughly 7:45 a.m. to 3:00 p.m. on the school calendar. Families who need extended-day or extended-year hours typically pair pre-K with wraparound care at the same site or with a partnering center. Many DISD sites offer wraparound through ChildCareGroup or other community partners blended with CCS-subsidized care for eligible families.
For infants, toddlers, and the gap before pre-K eligibility, the Texas Child Care Services program is the regional subsidy system. CCS covers a portion of licensed child care for income-eligible working families, with eligibility at initial entry up to 85 percent of the Texas state median income. Co-payments are sliding-scale, capped by the state, and reduced for Texas Rising Star three- and four-star providers. Families in Dallas County apply through Workforce Solutions Greater Dallas; surrounding counties use Workforce Solutions for North Central Texas.
Approved families use a CCS-eligible provider, which can be a licensed center, a licensed family child care home, or a registered home meeting CCS minimum quality standards. The Dallas board has historically maintained a CCS waitlist that varies by funding cycle. ChildCareGroup, the local Child Care Resource and Referral agency, operates intake support, provider mentoring, and parent referrals across Dallas County and is the practical first call for most families exploring CCS for the first time.
Three federal tools stack on top of any CCS subsidy or DISD pre-K placement: the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit on IRS Form 2441, the Dependent Care FSA at most employers (up to $5,000 per family per year of pre-tax savings), and the federal Child Tax Credit. Texas has no state income tax, so there is no state-level dependent care credit to layer on top of the federal credit.
The absence of a state-level credit makes the Dependent Care FSA particularly valuable for Dallas families. A two-earner household at Dallas wages typically recovers the full $5,000 FSA benefit, which works out to roughly $1,250 to $1,850 in federal tax savings depending on marginal rate. The federal Child and Dependent Care Credit recovers an additional $600 to $1,200 of qualifying expenses, depending on adjusted gross income.
A two-income Lakewood family with a one-year-old in full-time licensed center care spends roughly $1,625 to $1,750 per month, or $19,500 to $21,000 per year, per the National Database of Childcare Prices for Dallas County and the ChildCareGroup market-rate survey.
If the family qualifies for CCS at 85 percent of the state median income or below, the sliding-scale co-payment lands somewhere around $250 to $450 per month, with CCS covering the balance at the provider's tiered Texas Rising Star rate.
If the family is over the CCS ceiling, the full private rate stands. A Dependent Care FSA recovers $5,000 in pre-tax savings, and the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit recovers an additional $600 to $1,200 of qualifying expenses on top of that.
Walk through the cost calculator to model your own Dallas year with full-day pre-K, CCS subsidy, FSA, and the federal credits factored in. Use the comparison checklist and tour questions when you start visiting centers. Read the Texas pre-K explainer, our subsidized daycare guide, our daycare tax credit explainer, the Texas state cost overview, and the broader cost pillar.
For neighborhood and listing detail, see daycare in Dallas overall and the editorial best daycares in Dallas roundup. Highland Park, University Park, Preston Hollow, Lakewood, Uptown, North Dallas, Plano, Frisco, Bishop Arts, and Oak Cliff neighborhood guides are in progress.
Neighborhoods, listings, CCS-eligible sites, and the full Dallas-Fort Worth early-learning landscape.
Read → Pre-KHow HB 3 expanded full-day pre-K, who qualifies, and how to enroll in DISD and surrounding districts.
Read → ToolModel your Dallas daycare year with CCS subsidy, FSA, and the federal credits factored in.
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