A short, honest guide to Minnesota daycare.
Minnesota is one of the most expensive states in the country for licensed center-based infant care, often appearing in the top five in Child Care Aware national affordability reports. Twin Cities infant care now routinely sits between $2,000 and $2,400 per month at Three- and Four-Star Parent Aware programs in Minneapolis, St. Paul, and the inner-ring suburbs. The state has invested heavily in financial assistance, but most working families still feel the squeeze.
Voluntary Pre-K and Early Learning Scholarships
Minnesota Voluntary Pre-K (VPK) and School Readiness Plus, administered by the Minnesota Department of Education, fund free Pre-K classroom seats for four-year-olds at participating public school districts, prioritizing low-income families and English learners. Separately, Minnesota Early Learning Scholarships pay up to $9,400 per year for income-qualifying three- and four-year-olds at Three- and Four-Star Parent Aware programs (including community-based child care centers, not just school districts), with no waitlist as of the most recent legislative expansion. Read our Minnesota Early Learning Scholarships walkthrough.
Source: Minnesota Department of Education VPK and Early Learning Scholarships Annual Report, 2024-2025. Approximately 19,500 four-year-olds enrolled in Minnesota VPK and School Readiness Plus, and approximately 16,000 children received Early Learning Scholarships in 2024-2025.
Parent Aware
Parent Aware is Minnesota's voluntary Quality Rating and Improvement System for licensed centers, licensed family child care homes, school district preschools, Head Start, and Tribal child care, administered by DCYF. Programs earn one through four stars based on assessment of teaching practices, curriculum, professional development, and family partnerships. Three- and Four-Star programs represent meaningful investment above licensing minimums and qualify for Early Learning Scholarship payments. Filter our directory by Parent Aware rating.
Minnesota licensing and ratios
In 2025 Minnesota transferred child care licensing from the Department of Human Services to the new Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF), which now licenses and inspects every legal child care center and licensed family child care home in the state. Center ratios are 1:4 for infants under sixteen months, 1:7 for sixteen to thirty-three months, 1:10 for thirty-three months to school age, 1:10 for school-age in centers, and tightly capped for mixed-age groups. Every provider in our directory is cross-checked monthly.
Financial help in Minnesota
The Minnesota Child Care Assistance Program (CCAP), administered by DCYF through counties, funds Basic Sliding Fee and MFIP-eligible child care for working families up to a state-set income threshold. Early Learning Scholarships, VPK, School Readiness Plus, federal Head Start, and Early Head Start fund additional free or low-cost seats. Minnesota offers a state-level Minnesota Child and Dependent Care Credit, refundable for many families. The 2024 Minnesota Child Tax Credit also benefits families with young children. 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.
Where Minnesota parents tend to overpay
- Defaulting to Edina or Wayzata when a Four-Star Parent Aware program in Hopkins, Robbinsdale, or Bloomington runs $200 to $400 less per month with comparable quality.
- Skipping the Early Learning Scholarship application for an income-eligible three- or four-year-old; payments can fully offset community-based preschool tuition at Parent Aware programs.
- Skipping the CCAP application; Basic Sliding Fee eligibility extends further than most working households assume.
Before your first tour, download the free DaycareSquare comparison checklist and the tour questions list.
