Los Angeles has one of the most expensive daycare markets in the country and one of the most complex public-funding pictures. California's Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) phase-in is reshaping the four-year-old market year over year. Underneath UTK, the state runs a tiered subsidy system through CalWORKs Stages 1, 2, and 3 and Alternative Payment programs administered by nonprofit agencies. This guide pulls the most recent neighborhood-level data, explains how UTK and the CalWORKs system change the math, and shows where the price ranges actually come from.
In 2026 dollars, full-time center-based daycare in Los Angeles runs roughly $1,500 to $2,650 per month for infants and roughly $1,275 to $2,200 per month for preschool-age children. Licensed family child care homes (small family child care and large family child care under California Title 22) typically charge 20 to 30 percent less than centers in the same neighborhood. These ranges come from the National Database of Childcare Prices for LA County, the California Child Care Resource & Referral Network's regional market rate survey, and Crystal Stairs' most recent county fact sheet, not single-point averages.
Infant care in LA typically prices 20 to 25 percent above preschool-age care because of staff-to-child ratio rules. The California Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division sets the infant ratio at 1:4 for licensed centers under Title 22, with group size capped at 12 for infants. Small family child care homes (up to 8 children) and large family child care homes (up to 14 children) carry their own age-mix rules. The arithmetic of paying multiple credentialed teachers across small infant rooms is what makes infant rooms the most expensive line item in a center's budget.
| Area | Infant, center | Preschool, center | Family child care |
|---|---|---|---|
| Westside: Santa Monica, Brentwood, Pacific Palisades | $2,300–$2,650 / month | $1,925–$2,200 / month | $1,600–$1,875 / month |
| Beverly Hills, Bel Air, Holmby Hills | $2,250–$2,600 / month | $1,875–$2,150 / month | $1,575–$1,850 / month |
| West LA, Mar Vista, Culver City, Venice | $2,000–$2,400 / month | $1,675–$2,000 / month | $1,400–$1,675 / month |
| Hollywood Hills, Studio City, Sherman Oaks | $1,900–$2,300 / month | $1,600–$1,925 / month | $1,325–$1,600 / month |
| South Pasadena, Pasadena, San Marino, La Cañada | $1,925–$2,325 / month | $1,625–$1,950 / month | $1,350–$1,625 / month |
| Silver Lake, Echo Park, Los Feliz, Atwater | $1,750–$2,150 / month | $1,475–$1,800 / month | $1,225–$1,500 / month |
| Downtown LA, Koreatown, mid-Wilshire | $1,675–$2,050 / month | $1,400–$1,725 / month | $1,175–$1,425 / month |
| San Fernando Valley (Burbank, Glendale, Northridge, Woodland Hills) | $1,575–$1,950 / month | $1,325–$1,650 / month | $1,100–$1,350 / month |
| San Gabriel Valley (Arcadia, Monrovia, eastern SGV) | $1,525–$1,900 / month | $1,275–$1,600 / month | $1,075–$1,325 / month |
| South LA, Long Beach, San Pedro, eastern LA County | $1,500–$1,850 / month | $1,275–$1,575 / month | $1,050–$1,300 / month |
These ranges represent licensed care at established providers, not subsidized seats. Westside neighborhoods sit at the top of the LA range, with several centers in Santa Monica and Beverly Hills charging $3,000 per month or more for infant rooms. South LA, Long Beach, and the eastern San Gabriel Valley sit near the bottom of the city range, though still well above the national median.
If your child is four during the school year, California's Universal Transitional Kindergarten (UTK) materially changes the math. UTK is a separate grade in the public school system, open to four-year-olds based on a phased birthday-cutoff schedule under SB 130. By the 2025-2026 school year, UTK is open to all children who turn four by September 1, free, on the school-day schedule (typically 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.).
UTK does not cover the full working week or year. Families who need extended-day or extended-year hours typically pay for wraparound at the same school site (LAUSD offers Expanded Learning Opportunities Program after-care) or pair UTK with care at a partnering community-based site. UTK is separate from the California State Preschool Program (CSPP), which is income-targeted, and from Head Start.
For three-year-olds, free options are narrower. CSPP serves income-eligible three- and four-year-olds at participating sites, and LA County Head Start serves three- and four-year-olds at sites county-wide. Some LAUSD elementary schools also operate early-education centers with mixed funding streams.
Heads up. UTK enrollment runs through your child's LAUSD or local-district enrollment system in late winter and early spring for the following August. UTK does not require an income test, but you do need to be in district. Charter schools may run UTK separately. Check your home school's UTK timeline directly.
California's subsidy system runs in layers. CalWORKs Stage 1 serves families currently on cash aid; Stage 2 serves former cash aid families and current cash aid families with stable employment; Stage 3 serves income-eligible families above the CalWORKs line up to 85 percent of the state median income. The Alternative Payment program, administered by nonprofit agencies including Crystal Stairs, Connections for Children, and Children's Home Society of California, serves working families who do not have a CalWORKs history but meet the income test.
All of these programs use a sliding family fee schedule set by CDSS. The subsidy is portable across participating providers, including license-exempt relative care for many families. Apply through your local Alternative Payment agency (the California Department of Social Services maintains a county-by-county directory) or through your CalWORKs caseworker. California raised provider reimbursement rates in 2024 and capped family fees at 1 percent of family income for most subsidy recipients; check current CDSS state plan language before counting on the subsidy in your monthly math.
Three federal tools stack on top of any California subsidy: 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. California adds the state Child and Dependent Care Expenses Credit and the Young Child Tax Credit (for families with a qualifying child under six and earned income up to a defined threshold), layered on top of the federal credits.
A two-income Mar Vista family with a one-year-old in full-time licensed center care spends roughly $2,100 to $2,300 per month, or $25,200 to $27,600 per year, per the National Database of Childcare Prices for LA County and Crystal Stairs.
If the family qualifies for the Alternative Payment program at 85 percent of the state median income or below, the capped family fee lands somewhere around $100 to $500 per month, with the agency covering the balance up to the regional reimbursement ceiling.
If the family is over the AP ceiling, the full private rate stands. A Dependent Care FSA recovers $5,000 in pre-tax savings, and the federal credit plus the California state credits recover an additional $700 to $1,200 of qualifying expenses on top of that.
Walk through the cost calculator to model your own LA year with UTK, AP subsidy, FSA, and the federal and state credits factored in. Use the comparison checklist and tour questions when you start visiting centers. Read the California UTK explainer, our subsidized daycare guide, our daycare tax credit explainer, the California state cost overview, and the broader cost pillar.
For neighborhood-level breakdowns, see daycare in Los Angeles overall. San Diego and the Bay Area cost pages are in progress; in the meantime see daycare cost in California for statewide context.
Within Los Angeles, tuition can swing several hundred dollars across a single subway or freeway stop. These neighborhood pages cover infant, toddler, and preschool ranges with local context.
Neighborhoods, listings, Alternative Payment subsidy info, and the full LA early-learning landscape.
Read → Pre-KHow Universal Transitional Kindergarten works in LAUSD and across the state, and how to enroll a four-year-old.
Read → ToolModel your LA daycare year with AP subsidy, FSA, and the federal and state credits factored in.
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