A short, honest guide to Delaware daycare.
Delaware is a small state with three distinct daycare markets: New Castle County in the north (Wilmington corridor, Newark, Middletown, Hockessin), Kent County in the middle (Dover, Smyrna, Milford), and Sussex County in the south (the beach towns, Georgetown, Seaford, Laurel). Tuition can vary by $400 to $600 between northern and southern markets for the same age group, which gives families with flexibility a real reason to look across county lines.
Delaware Stars for Early Success
Delaware Stars is the statewide Quality Rating and Improvement System for licensed centers, licensed family child care homes, and school-age programs, administered by the Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood at the University of Delaware. Programs earn one through five stars based on staff qualifications, learning environment, family engagement, and program management. Four- and five-star programs represent meaningful investment above licensing minimums. Filter our directory by Stars rating.
Source: Delaware Department of Education and Delaware Institute for Excellence in Early Childhood, Delaware Stars annual report 2024. A majority of state-subsidized child care seats are concentrated in three-, four-, and five-star programs.
Early Childhood Assistance Program (ECAP)
ECAP is Delaware's state-funded Pre-K program for income-qualified four-year-olds, modeled on Head Start performance standards. Seats are offered at participating school districts and approved community-based providers. Federal Head Start funds additional free seats statewide. ECAP is income-qualified rather than universal. Read our ECAP walkthrough.
Delaware licensing and ratios
The Delaware Office of Child Care Licensing (OCCL), within the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families, licenses every legal daycare center, large family child care home, and family child care home in the state. Center ratios are 1:4 for infants under twelve months, 1:6 for twelve to twenty-four months, 1:8 for two-year-olds, and 1:12 for three- to five-year-olds. Every provider in our directory is cross-checked monthly.
Financial help in Delaware
The Delaware Purchase of Care (POC) program subsidizes care for working families up to a state-set income threshold, with higher reimbursement tied to Delaware Stars ratings. ECAP, federal Head Start, and Early Head Start fund additional free seats. All families can use the federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, the state-level Delaware Child and Dependent Care Credit, and a Dependent Care FSA if offered through work. Our tax credit explainer walks through the math.
Where Delaware parents tend to overpay
- Defaulting to Hockessin or downtown Wilmington centers when a four- or five-star Delaware Stars program in Newark, Middletown, or Bear runs $200 to $400 less per month.
- Paying private preschool tuition for an income-eligible four-year-old without checking ECAP availability through their school district.
- Skipping the Purchase of Care application; Delaware periodically raises the income threshold, and POC reimburses more for higher-rated programs.
Before your first tour, download the free DaycareSquare comparison checklist and the tour questions list.
