San Antonio is one of the more affordable big-city daycare markets in the country, with a meaningful gap between Stone Oak in the north and the Southside, plus a small premium for inside-Loop-410 neighborhoods such as Alamo Heights and Terrell Hills. The city also runs Pre-K 4 SA, one of the most distinctive city-funded pre-K programs in the country, layered on top of Texas's full-day public pre-K. This guide pulls the most recent Bexar County pricing, explains how Pre-K 4 SA and the Texas CCS subsidy change the math, and shows where those ranges come from.
In 2026 dollars, full-time center-based daycare in San Antonio runs roughly $1,050 to $1,650 per month for infants and roughly $900 to $1,350 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 Bexar County and the Workforce Solutions Alamo most recent market-rate survey, not single-point averages.
Infant care in San Antonio 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 San Antonio center's budget.
| Area | Infant, center | Preschool, center | Family child care |
|---|---|---|---|
| Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, Olmos Park | $1,475–$1,650 / month | $1,200–$1,350 / month | $1,050–$1,200 / month |
| Stone Oak, Dominion, Hollywood Park, Shavano Park | $1,425–$1,625 / month | $1,175–$1,325 / month | $1,025–$1,175 / month |
| The Pearl, Tobin Hill, Monte Vista, downtown | $1,325–$1,525 / month | $1,100–$1,275 / month | $950–$1,125 / month |
| Medical Center, Babcock corridor, Castle Hills | $1,275–$1,475 / month | $1,075–$1,250 / month | $925–$1,100 / month |
| Northwest (Leon Valley, Helotes, Boerne edge) | $1,225–$1,425 / month | $1,025–$1,200 / month | $900–$1,075 / month |
| Northeast (Schertz, Universal City, Live Oak) | $1,200–$1,400 / month | $1,000–$1,175 / month | $875–$1,050 / month |
| West Side, Westover Hills | $1,125–$1,325 / month | $950–$1,125 / month | $825–$1,000 / month |
| East Side, Camelot, Windcrest | $1,075–$1,275 / month | $925–$1,075 / month | $800–$975 / month |
| Southwest (South Park, Highland Hills, Palm Heights) | $1,050–$1,250 / month | $900–$1,050 / month | $775–$950 / month |
| Southeast (Brooks, Highland Park) | $1,050–$1,225 / month | $900–$1,050 / month | $775–$925 / month |
These ranges represent licensed care at established providers, not subsidized seats. Alamo Heights, Terrell Hills, and Stone Oak sit at the top of the metro range. The Southside and East Side sit near the bottom, though still above the rural South Texas median. Suburban Boerne and Cibolo spillover at the edges runs at or above Stone Oak pricing because of demand from medical and military officer families.
If your child is four during the school year, San Antonio's Pre-K 4 SA materially changes the math. Pre-K 4 SA operates four model education centers in north, south, east, and west San Antonio that serve roughly 2,000 four-year-olds each year on a full-day schedule. The program is free for income-eligible families and offers tuition-based seats for families above eligibility on a sliding scale. Bus transportation runs from neighborhoods across the city.
In addition to Pre-K 4 SA, San Antonio Independent School District, Northside ISD, North East ISD, Edgewood ISD, Harlandale ISD, and every other Greater San Antonio district offer free full-day pre-K for four-year-olds who meet at least one Texas Education Agency eligibility criterion under House Bill 3. Some districts including Northside ISD and Northeast ISD also operate tuition-based pre-K for non-eligible four-year-olds on a space-available basis.
Heads up. Pre-K 4 SA applications open in the late winter at prek4sa.com. The North and Northeast Education Centers see the strongest demand, and seats at those campuses are typically filled at the first offer round. The South and West Education Centers tend to have more rolling availability for income-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 apply through Workforce Solutions Alamo, the regional workforce development board.
Workforce Solutions Alamo operates intake offices across Bexar County including locations in Stone Oak, Westover Hills, and the East Side. 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 board has historically maintained a CCS waitlist that varies by funding cycle and federal Child Care and Development Fund allocation; check current waitlist status before counting on the subsidy in your monthly math.
Three federal tools stack on top of any CCS subsidy or Pre-K 4 SA 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 San Antonio families. A two-earner household at San Antonio wages typically recovers the full $5,000 FSA benefit, which works out to roughly $1,250 to $1,650 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 Stone Oak family with a one-year-old in full-time licensed center care spends roughly $1,475 to $1,625 per month, or $17,700 to $19,500 per year, per the National Database of Childcare Prices for Bexar County and the Workforce Solutions Alamo 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 $225 to $425 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 San Antonio year with Pre-K 4 SA, 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 San Antonio overall and the editorial best daycares in San Antonio roundup. Alamo Heights, Stone Oak, Terrell Hills, the Pearl, Medical Center, Northwest, Northeast, and Southside neighborhood guides are in progress.
Neighborhoods, listings, CCS-eligible sites, and the full San Antonio early-learning landscape.
Read → Pre-KHow HB 3 expanded full-day pre-K, who qualifies, and how Pre-K 4 SA fits alongside it.
Read → ToolModel your San Antonio daycare year with CCS subsidy, FSA, and the federal credits factored in.
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