A short, honest guide to Tennessee daycare.
Tennessee sits comfortably below the national daycare cost average, but the gap between metro Nashville and the rest of the state is wider than parents new to the region usually expect. The Nashville urban core, Brentwood, and Franklin pay center-city pricing; Memphis, Knoxville, Chattanooga, and the Tri-Cities still hold to early-2020s rates with quality programs available well under $1,000 per month.
Voluntary Pre-K (VPK)
Tennessee's Voluntary Pre-K program, administered by the Tennessee Department of Education, funds free Pre-K classrooms for income-qualifying four-year-olds in participating school districts and approved community-based child care providers. Eligibility is set at or below 185 percent of federal poverty in most districts, with priority for English learners, children with disabilities, and children in foster care. Read our Tennessee VPK walkthrough.
Source: Tennessee Department of Education Voluntary Pre-K Annual Report, 2024-2025. Approximately 18,500 four-year-olds enrolled in Tennessee VPK in 2024-2025, with the largest enrollments in Davidson, Shelby, Hamilton, and Knox counties.
Star-Quality Child Care
Star-Quality is the Tennessee Quality Rating and Improvement System for licensed centers and family child care homes, administered by TDHS. Programs earn one, two, or three stars based on staff qualifications, ongoing professional development, family engagement, and an independent program assessment. Three-star programs represent meaningful investment above licensing minimums. Filter our directory by Star-Quality level.
Tennessee licensing and ratios
TDHS Child Care Services licenses and monitors every legal child care center, family child care home, and group child care home in the state. Center ratios are 1:4 for infants under twelve months, 1:6 for twelve to thirty months, 1:7 for two- to three-year-olds, 1:9 for three- to four-year-olds, 1:13 for four-year-olds, and 1:16 for five-year-olds. Every provider in our directory is cross-checked monthly.
Financial help in Tennessee
The Smart Steps Child Care Certificate Program, administered by TDHS, funds subsidized care for working families up to a state-set income threshold. VPK, federal Head Start, and Early Head Start fund additional free seats. All families can use the federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (Tennessee does not have a state income tax) and a Dependent Care FSA if offered through work. Our tax credit explainer walks through the math.
Where Tennessee parents tend to overpay
- Defaulting to a name-brand national chain in Nashville without checking the three-star independent programs in West End, East Nashville, or Madison.
- Skipping the VPK application for an income-eligible four-year-old; a full school-day Pre-K seat is free if your family qualifies.
- Skipping the Smart Steps subsidy application; eligibility is broader than most families assume.
Before your first tour, download the free DaycareSquare comparison checklist and the tour questions list.
