How many day care centers are in the US? (2025 count by state)
Leadz.biz counts 116,372 day care centers in the United States as of December 28, 2025. That is 35.1 per 100,000 US residents, using the 2020 Census resident population. The figure is the number of businesses listed on Google Maps under this category in the Leadz database; it is not a census or a licensing count.
Number of day care centers by state
51 states and districts with at least one listing, largest first. Data as of December 28, 2025.
| State | Businesses | Share of US total | Per 100,000 residents | Email on file | Avg. Google rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| California | 15,344 | 13.2% | 38.8 | 19.3% | 4.61 |
| Texas | 8,844 | 7.6% | 30.3 | 18.7% | 4.37 |
| New York | 8,096 | 7.0% | 40.1 | 18.2% | 4.52 |
| Florida | 6,762 | 5.8% | 31.4 | 19.2% | 4.38 |
| Pennsylvania | 5,209 | 4.5% | 40.1 | 19.5% | 4.34 |
| Illinois | 4,294 | 3.7% | 33.5 | 19.7% | 4.40 |
| Ohio | 4,036 | 3.5% | 34.2 | 19.5% | 4.29 |
| North Carolina | 3,746 | 3.2% | 35.9 | 17.7% | 4.34 |
| Washington | 3,722 | 3.2% | 48.3 | 21.7% | 4.61 |
| Georgia | 3,389 | 2.9% | 31.6 | 16.6% | 4.29 |
| New Jersey | 3,325 | 2.9% | 35.8 | 22.8% | 4.51 |
| Massachusetts | 3,307 | 2.8% | 47.0 | 22.1% | 4.62 |
| Michigan | 2,971 | 2.6% | 29.5 | 17.1% | 4.40 |
| Virginia | 2,930 | 2.5% | 33.9 | 24.3% | 4.48 |
| Maryland | 2,674 | 2.3% | 43.3 | 23.0% | 4.45 |
| Indiana | 2,274 | 2.0% | 33.5 | 18.2% | 4.32 |
| Minnesota | 2,174 | 1.9% | 38.1 | 23.1% | 4.51 |
| Missouri | 2,100 | 1.8% | 34.1 | 18.3% | 4.29 |
| Wisconsin | 2,059 | 1.8% | 34.9 | 18.9% | 4.41 |
| Tennessee | 2,047 | 1.8% | 29.6 | 18.1% | 4.33 |
| Oregon | 1,738 | 1.5% | 41.0 | 25.1% | 4.63 |
| Colorado | 1,651 | 1.4% | 28.6 | 28.0% | 4.47 |
| Connecticut | 1,629 | 1.4% | 45.2 | 23.9% | 4.53 |
| Louisiana | 1,572 | 1.4% | 33.8 | 13.4% | 4.27 |
| Alabama | 1,531 | 1.3% | 30.5 | 14.1% | 4.17 |
| South Carolina | 1,476 | 1.3% | 28.8 | 15.7% | 4.32 |
| Arizona | 1,443 | 1.2% | 20.2 | 18.7% | 4.40 |
| Oklahoma | 1,391 | 1.2% | 35.1 | 12.4% | 4.17 |
| Kentucky | 1,292 | 1.1% | 28.7 | 12.5% | 4.21 |
| Iowa | 1,199 | 1.0% | 37.6 | 20.9% | 4.32 |
| Utah | 1,125 | 1.0% | 34.4 | 17.8% | 4.66 |
| Arkansas | 1,064 | 0.9% | 35.3 | 16.6% | 4.25 |
| Mississippi | 1,053 | 0.9% | 35.6 | 11.7% | 4.19 |
| Kansas | 1,035 | 0.9% | 35.2 | 21.3% | 4.37 |
| Nebraska | 906 | 0.8% | 46.2 | 16.8% | 4.37 |
| Idaho | 722 | 0.6% | 39.3 | 19.4% | 4.48 |
| New Mexico | 632 | 0.5% | 29.8 | 18.2% | 4.26 |
| Maine | 611 | 0.5% | 44.8 | 13.7% | 4.43 |
| Montana | 541 | 0.5% | 49.9 | 19.0% | 4.48 |
| New Hampshire | 498 | 0.4% | 36.2 | 25.5% | 4.38 |
| Delaware | 466 | 0.4% | 47.1 | 17.4% | 4.14 |
| Nevada | 464 | 0.4% | 14.9 | 20.7% | 4.33 |
| West Virginia | 442 | 0.4% | 24.6 | 14.5% | 4.15 |
| Rhode Island | 374 | 0.3% | 34.1 | 26.7% | 4.46 |
| South Dakota | 356 | 0.3% | 40.2 | 18.8% | 4.28 |
| North Dakota | 353 | 0.3% | 45.3 | 13.9% | 4.29 |
| District of Columbia | 348 | 0.3% | 50.5 | 33.3% | 4.36 |
| Hawaii | 313 | 0.3% | 21.5 | 35.1% | 4.47 |
| Wyoming | 310 | 0.3% | 53.7 | 18.4% | 4.52 |
| Vermont | 284 | 0.2% | 44.2 | 21.5% | 4.56 |
| Alaska | 250 | 0.2% | 34.1 | 23.2% | 4.39 |
| United States | 116,372 | 100.0% | 35.1 | 19.4% | 4.43 |
State names link to the state list for the 12 largest states. "Email on file" is the share of listings with a stored email address; it is not a deliverability check.
Key findings
- California has the largest number of day care centers of any state: 15,344, or 13.2% of the US total.
- The three largest states (California, Texas and New York) together account for 27.7% of the US total.
- Relative to population, Wyoming has the most day care centers (53.7 per 100,000 residents) and Nevada the fewest (14.9 per 100,000), among states with at least 50 counted.
- 19.4% of the day care centers counted (22,554 of 116,372) have an email address on file.
- The average Google rating across the day care centers counted is 4.43 out of 5.
Methodology
Each figure is the number of businesses listed on Google Maps that are in the Leadz database under the Day Care Center category as of December 28, 2025.
This is not a census or a licensing count. A business can be missing from the database or filed under a different category. State figures may not add up to the US figure because some listings are outside the 50 states and the District of Columbia or have no state on record.
Per-capita figures divide each count by the 2020 Census resident population of the state (US figure: the 50 states and the District of Columbia) and multiply by 100,000. Share of US total divides each state count by the US figure.
Cite this page
Leadz.biz. "How many day care centers are in the US? (2025 count by state)." Data as of December 28, 2025. https://www.leadz.biz/statistics/day-care-centers
Browse the Day Care Centers list or see statistics for other categories.