Childcare in Orange County, by the numbers.

Orange County has 909 licensed center programs with 70,789 licensed spots, and 539 large home daycares.

Source: Child Care Licensing facility search, California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division. Read November 3, 2026.

  • 909

    Licensed center programs

    1,068 center licenses

  • 70,789

    Licensed spots in centers

    About 78 per program

  • 539

    Large home daycares

    7,491 spots

  • 22

    New center programs

    52 closed in the same months

Spots for young children in Orange County

43

licensed spots for every 100 children under 5

California as a whole has 42.

Orange County has about 150,286 children under 5, by the Census Bureau's estimate.

Center programs opened, November 2025 to October 2026

22 opened at a new address. 52 addresses closed their last center license.

  • November 20253
  • December 20252
  • January 20261
  • February 20260
  • March 20261
  • April 20262
  • May 20262
  • June 20260
  • July 20263
  • August 20264
  • September 20262
  • October 20262

Kinds of center license in Orange County

117 programs hold only a school-age license: before and after school care.

  • Day care center643
  • Infant center172
  • School-age day care center161
  • Single licensed child care center92

Cities with the most center programs

By the city written on each license.

  • Irvine90
  • Santa Ana90
  • Anaheim84
  • Garden Grove48
  • Fullerton45
  • Orange45
  • Costa Mesa42
  • Huntington Beach42

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Getting licensed in California

California licenses child care centers and family child care homes separately. See the ratios, trainings and checklist the state asks for in our California licensing guide.

Opening one? Read how to start a daycare in California or how to start a home daycare, step by step.

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Questions, answered

How many licensed childcare centers are in Orange County?

909 center programs, holding 1,068 center licenses and 70,789 licensed spots, as of November 3, 2026.

How many large home daycares are in Orange County?

539 large home daycares, with 7,491 spots, as of November 3, 2026.

How many childcare centers opened in Orange County in the last year?

22 center programs opened at a new address from November 2025 to October 2026. In the same months, 52 addresses closed their last center license.

How many licensed childcare spots are there per child in Orange County?

43 licensed spots for every 100 children under 5. The child count is the Census Bureau's estimate for July 1, 2025.

Where can I check a childcare program's license in California?

On California Department of Social Services, Community Care Licensing Division's public facility search. Search by the program's name, address or license number.

About these numbers

Every license count here comes from the state's license file, read November 3, 2026.

A center program is the active center licenses one licensee holds at one address. A day care center and its infant center count as one program.

Openings and closings cover November 2025 to October 2026.

An opening is a program first licensed then, at an address with no earlier center license.

A closing is an address whose last center license closed in that time.

Home daycares are large family child care homes, for up to 14 children. Small homes are not in the state's file.

Children under 5 are the Census Bureau's estimates for July 1, 2025.

Spots for young children leave out school-age licenses and add home daycare spots. Some serve older children.

This page is a summary of public records. It is not legal advice, and licenses change every week.

To check one program, search the state's own lookup.

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