Best Daycares in Santa Cruz

Santa Cruz offers a solid selection of licensed providers with 67 licensed facilities, including 12 Child Care Centers and 4 Family Child Care Homes. We ranked the top 20 based on their official compliance record and parent reviews to help you find the best fit for your family.

The daycare landscape in Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County is strong — 100% of the top-ranked facilities have a clean inspection record with no citations. Our top pick, Acr Academy, holds an Excellent facility score.

When it comes to cost, licensed child care centers in Santa Cruz, Santa Cruz County charge a median of $1,750 per month for infant care and $1,050 for preschool. These are county-level estimates — individual facilities may vary. Family child care homes are typically more affordable, with infant care averaging around $1,412 per month.

Each facility listed below links to a detailed profile page where you can review inspection history, complaint records, capacity, and contact information. We update our rankings regularly as new licensing data becomes available.