What would a year cost us?
Your cheapest way to cover a full year, then every option on one scale.
Before tax. A rough figure is fine.
Los Angeles County · 4 people · $58,000 a year · a full workday · summer care · 4 by September 1. Cheapest way to cover your year: Full-day state preschool, about $1,000
Typical prices Up to higher prices A cost we can’t price: ask
You qualify, cheapest first
- Cheapest for youState preschool (CSPP), full-dayYour income qualifies. Leaves about 3 weeks to cover. No guaranteed place: families are ranked.$1,000–$1,300 a year
You usually also need a reason for care, such as work or school.
How it works and who to ask: State preschool (CSPP), full-day
$0 family fee. Your income is below $102,033 a year for 4 people (75% of the state’s median income). You usually also have to show a need for care, such as work or school. If the program runs the 246 days state law usually requires, that leaves about 3 weeks a year to cover. At Los Angeles County center prices, that’s about $1,000–$1,300 (our estimate).
State-funded preschool for 3- and 4-year-olds, run by school districts, colleges, community agencies and nonprofits. It’s for families under an income limit, or who qualify another way. Full-day has no fee below an income line, and a flat monthly fee above it. To find programs, ask your county’s child care referral agency (find it at MyChildCarePlan.org), then apply to them.
Ages 3 and 4. Some providers also take 2-year-olds until June 30, 2027. On income, a family of four qualifies at or below $136,044 a year. Other ways in include cash aid, homelessness, protective services, someone in the household on Medi-Cal, CalFresh or WIC, or a child with an IEP (a special education plan). For full-day care, you usually also have to show a need for care, such as work or school. Programs count income their own way (by the month, leaving some payments out), so if you’re close to a line, ask.
Part-day has no family fee. Full-day has no fee below 75% of the state’s median income, or for families on CalWORKs (the state’s cash aid program). Other families pay a flat monthly fee from the state’s chart, never more than 1% of income. Families who qualify another way still pay that fee, unless a rule excuses them.
Qualifying doesn’t get you a seat. For part-day places, state law sets the order. Children in protective services or at risk of abuse come first. Next are children with disabilities from eligible families, then other eligible children not in TK, lowest income first, then more groups. Ask your county’s child care resource and referral agency (MyChildCarePlan.org) which programs near you have state preschool, then apply to them.
Sources: CDE CSPP funding profile; CDE MB 26-03 (state preschool income limits); CDE MB 26-04 (state preschool fees); CDE 2026–27 family fee schedule; Ed. Code § 8207; Ed. Code § 8208; Ed. Code § 8210; MyChildCarePlan.org, California’s child care resource and referral agencies
- TK + after-school care (ELO-P)Old enough this school year. Leaves 10 weeks to cover. TK place guaranteed, but not the after-school place.$3,700–$4,500 a year
How it works and who to ask: TK + after-school care (ELO-P)
$0 tuition. ELO-P is state-funded care before and after school and on school breaks. If your district or school runs it, ELO-P can’t charge you a fee at your income. You’re at or below the $61,050 reduced-price school meal line for 4 people. If ELO-P runs the 30 days it must offer when school is closed, that leaves 10 weeks a year to cover (school breaks and summer). At Los Angeles County center prices, that’s about $3,700–$4,500 (our estimate). Without ELO-P, you’d need other care for afternoons and up to 80 weekdays.
TK is a free public school class the year before kindergarten, for children who turn 4 by September 1. ELO-P (the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program) is state-funded care before and after school and on school breaks, for TK through 6th grade. Not every district or charter school runs it. Sign up for TK with your district, and ask your school about ELO-P.
Any child who turns 4 by September 1 of the school year. There’s no income test. The state education department says districts can’t keep TK waiting lists. Your district may still place your child at a nearby school instead of your neighborhood one. A child who isn’t 4 by September 1 starts in the first school year they are. TK can’t require a fee. A school may ask for a donation, but giving is up to you.
ELO-P is the after-school part. It covers care before and after school, and at least 30 days when school is closed. Each school district or charter school decides every year whether to run it. Your child isn’t signed up on their own: ask your school for the ELO-P sign-up. Some schools keep a waiting list when it’s full.
ELO-P can’t charge a fee for children in foster care, children who are homeless, or children who qualify for free or reduced-price school meals. You can tell the school yourself that your child qualifies (this is called self-certifying) to get the fee waived. Other families may pay a fee on a sliding scale, set by income and ability to pay.
Some schools also have other before- or after-school programs that aren’t ELO-P, sometimes run by a nonprofit, with their own prices. ELO-P’s fee rules don’t cover those. Ask which program you’re being offered and what it costs.
Call your school district’s enrollment or early education office about TK. Ask your school about ELO-P.
Sources: CDE TK FAQ; CDE TK fiscal FAQ; Ed. Code § 49011; CDE ELO-P FAQ; Ed. Code § 46120 (ELO-P)
Other options: over the income limit or a cost to ask about
- Child care voucherYour income qualifies. No guaranteed place: families are ranked.$0 a year + ask+ anything the center charges above the voucher
Not our cheapest pick, because we can’t price anything the center charges above the voucher. You’d also need a reason for care, such as work or school.
How it works and who to ask: Child care voucher
$0 family fee below 75% of the state’s median income. You’d also have to show a need for care. After children in protective services, the lowest incomes are served first. A center that charges more than the voucher pays may bill you the difference.
State help paying a licensed child care provider you choose, including a private center. It’s for families under an income limit who need care, such as for work or school, or who qualify another way. Ask your county’s child care referral agency (find it at MyChildCarePlan.org) where to apply.
An Alternative Payment Program voucher can pay a licensed provider you choose, including a private center. On income, a family of four qualifies at or below $115,637 a year in 2026–27 (85% of the state’s median income). An ordinary application also has to show why you need care, such as work or school. Families in protective services or experiencing homelessness have different rules.
Children in protective services are served first, then families with the lowest income for their size. It isn’t first come, first served. Families from 75% to 85% of the state’s median income pay a flat monthly fee. A center that charges more than the voucher pays may bill you the difference.
Ask your county’s child care resource and referral agency (MyChildCarePlan.org) where to apply.
Sources: CDSS CCB 26-17 (voucher income limits and who is served first); CDSS CCB 26-16 (voucher family fees); MyChildCarePlan.org, California’s child care resource and referral agencies
- Head StartOver the income limit. Leaves 20 weeks to cover. No guaranteed place: families are ranked.$7,400–$8,900 a year + ask+ care before or after its hours: ask what it costs
You may still qualify through public assistance, foster care or homelessness. A program can also fill up to 10% of its places with families who meet none of these tests, and can adjust income for very high housing costs.
How it works and who to ask: Head Start
$0 for Head Start’s own hours. Your income is over the poverty line for 4 people ($33,000). So the usual ways in are public assistance, foster care or homelessness, or one of the few places for families over the line. A program can also adjust income for very high housing costs. If the program runs 160 days, the federal minimum for some of its places, that leaves 20 weeks a year to cover. At Los Angeles County center prices, that’s about $7,400–$8,900 (our estimate).
Federally funded preschool from age 3 until kindergarten, with support for the whole family. It’s mostly for families at or below the poverty line, or who qualify another way. There’s no fee for its own hours. Find programs near you with the Head Start center finder and apply to them.
Ages 3 to kindergarten. A family qualifies with income at or below the poverty line ($33,000 for four in 2026). Public assistance, foster care or homelessness qualify at any income. Once those families are served, a program may fill up to 35% of places with families below 130% of the poverty line. It may fill up to 10% with families who meet none of those tests. A program can also adjust income for very high housing costs.
Head Start can’t charge families in its program for its own hours. A program can charge for extra care before or after them. Each program ranks its waiting list by its own rules, so qualifying doesn’t get you a seat.
Find programs near you with the HeadStart.gov center locator, and contact them directly.
Sources: 45 CFR 1302.12; 45 CFR 1302.14; 45 CFR 1302.18; 45 CFR 1302.21; 45 CFR 1302.50; HeadStart.gov center locator
For comparison
- Private centerAny family who can pay.$16,300–$19,900 a year
How it works and who to ask: Private center
About $16,300–$19,900 a year for 12 months of full-time care, as each center defined full-time. That’s the 2021 survey’s middle to 75th-percentile price for Los Angeles County centers, × 1.25 for inflation (our estimate, not a quote).
A licensed child care center you pay for yourself. You apply to each center, and each one sets its own price.
The bar comes from the state’s 2021 survey of licensed centers, for a preschool-age child. We multiplied it by 1.25 for national child care inflation up to July 2026. It’s our estimate, not a quote.
The low end is the survey’s middle price. The high end is its 75th percentile: three in four of the survey’s weighted prices are at or under it.
Centers gave their usual posted weekday rates, without early or late care or extra fees. Each center decided what full-time meant. Ask any center about its hours, what’s included, the days it’s closed and whether it bills for summer.
Sources: CDSS 2021 Regional Market Rate county workbook; CDSS 2021 Regional Market Rate report; BLS CPI, day care and preschool (CUUR0000SEEB03)
Our estimate, not a quote. Each bar is the option’s own fee plus the weekdays it’s closed, priced at your county’s center rates. Qualifying doesn’t promise a seat.
Open the full tables: all 58 counties and every income line
| County | Full-time, middle price a month (2021 / our 2026 estimate) | Full-time, 75th percentile a month (2021 / our 2026 estimate) | Part-time, middle price a month, 2021 | Part-time, 75th percentile a month, 2021 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alameda | $1,547 / ~$1,930 | $1,795 / ~$2,240 | $1,000 | $1,263 |
| Alpine | $681 / ~$850 | $773 / ~$970 | $489 | $618 |
| Amador | $681 / ~$850 | $773 / ~$970 | $489 | $618 |
| Butte | $695 / ~$870 | $810 / ~$1,010 | $495 | $629 |
| Calaveras | $797 / ~$1,000 | $868 / ~$1,080 | $534 | $663 |
| Colusa | $900 / ~$1,120 | $1,020 / ~$1,270 | $636 | $794 |
| Contra Costa | $1,287 / ~$1,610 | $1,598 / ~$2,000 | $845 | $1,174 |
| Del Norte | $681 / ~$850 | $773 / ~$970 | $489 | $618 |
| El Dorado | $964 / ~$1,210 | $1,143 / ~$1,430 | $649 | $829 |
| Fresno | $858 / ~$1,070 | $995 / ~$1,240 | $597 | $755 |
| Glenn | $799 / ~$1,000 | $1,000 / ~$1,250 | $579 | $721 |
| Humboldt | $798 / ~$1,000 | $898 / ~$1,120 | $542 | $676 |
| Imperial | $725 / ~$910 | $840 / ~$1,050 | $509 | $660 |
| Inyo | $699 / ~$870 | $801 / ~$1,000 | $500 | $625 |
| Kern | $837 / ~$1,050 | $993 / ~$1,240 | $584 | $759 |
| Kings | $831 / ~$1,040 | $941 / ~$1,180 | $575 | $735 |
| Lake | $799 / ~$1,000 | $981 / ~$1,230 | $560 | $703 |
| Lassen | $710 / ~$890 | $820 / ~$1,020 | $501 | $631 |
| Los Angeles | $1,087 / ~$1,360 | $1,328 / ~$1,660 | $720 | $913 |
| Madera | $823 / ~$1,030 | $1,000 / ~$1,250 | $581 | $722 |
| Marin | $1,683 / ~$2,100 | $1,950 / ~$2,440 | $1,146 | $1,497 |
| Mariposa | $681 / ~$850 | $773 / ~$970 | $489 | $618 |
| Mendocino | $800 / ~$1,000 | $950 / ~$1,190 | $559 | $694 |
| Merced | $730 / ~$910 | $868 / ~$1,090 | $515 | $665 |
| Modoc | $728 / ~$910 | $856 / ~$1,070 | $509 | $657 |
| Mono | $1,000 / ~$1,250 | $1,155 / ~$1,440 | $679 | $852 |
| Monterey | $878 / ~$1,100 | $1,102 / ~$1,380 | $599 | $778 |
| Napa | $1,025 / ~$1,280 | $1,192 / ~$1,490 | $703 | $857 |
| Nevada | $908 / ~$1,130 | $1,158 / ~$1,450 | $609 | $800 |
| Orange | $1,098 / ~$1,370 | $1,298 / ~$1,620 | $726 | $911 |
| Placer | $1,060 / ~$1,330 | $1,218 / ~$1,520 | $680 | $852 |
| Plumas | $799 / ~$1,000 | $897 / ~$1,120 | $550 | $669 |
| Riverside | $856 / ~$1,070 | $998 / ~$1,250 | $594 | $750 |
| Sacramento | $984 / ~$1,230 | $1,139 / ~$1,420 | $673 | $833 |
| San Benito | $899 / ~$1,120 | $990 / ~$1,240 | $628 | $759 |
| San Bernardino | $835 / ~$1,040 | $997 / ~$1,250 | $579 | $750 |
| San Diego | $1,013 / ~$1,270 | $1,242 / ~$1,550 | $689 | $880 |
| San Francisco | $1,735 / ~$2,170 | $2,056 / ~$2,570 | $1,199 | $1,527 |
| San Joaquin | $798 / ~$1,000 | $911 / ~$1,140 | $547 | $679 |
| San Luis Obispo | $973 / ~$1,220 | $1,341 / ~$1,680 | $679 | $897 |
| San Mateo | $1,619 / ~$2,020 | $1,822 / ~$2,280 | $1,096 | $1,351 |
| Santa Barbara | $1,099 / ~$1,370 | $1,364 / ~$1,710 | $749 | $969 |
| Santa Clara | $1,599 / ~$2,000 | $1,819 / ~$2,270 | $1,099 | $1,396 |
| Santa Cruz | $1,183 / ~$1,480 | $1,417 / ~$1,770 | $800 | $1,047 |
| Shasta | $775 / ~$970 | $881 / ~$1,100 | $532 | $668 |
| Sierra | $681 / ~$850 | $773 / ~$970 | $489 | $618 |
| Siskiyou | $690 / ~$860 | $799 / ~$1,000 | $490 | $624 |
| Solano | $1,003 / ~$1,250 | $1,213 / ~$1,520 | $688 | $880 |
| Sonoma | $1,150 / ~$1,440 | $1,326 / ~$1,660 | $746 | $913 |
| Stanislaus | $710 / ~$890 | $820 / ~$1,020 | $501 | $632 |
| Sutter | $697 / ~$870 | $829 / ~$1,040 | $498 | $633 |
| Tehama | $681 / ~$850 | $773 / ~$970 | $489 | $618 |
| Trinity | $799 / ~$1,000 | $876 / ~$1,090 | $545 | $666 |
| Tulare | $750 / ~$940 | $890 / ~$1,110 | $529 | $676 |
| Tuolumne | $689 / ~$860 | $797 / ~$1,000 | $490 | $622 |
| Ventura | $945 / ~$1,180 | $1,102 / ~$1,380 | $657 | $806 |
| Yolo | $1,197 / ~$1,500 | $1,546 / ~$1,930 | $812 | $1,113 |
| Yuba | $800 / ~$1,000 | $907 / ~$1,130 | $559 | $679 |
| Income line | 2 people | 3 people | 4 people | 5 people | 6 people | 7 people | 8 people |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Head Start: poverty line, 2026 (at or below) | $21,640 | $27,320 | $33,000 | $38,680 | $44,360 | $50,040 | $55,720 |
| Head Start limited places: below 130% of the poverty line, 2026 (our arithmetic) | $28,132 | $35,516 | $42,900 | $50,284 | $57,668 | $65,052 | $72,436 |
| Free school meal line (also used for the ELO-P fee), 2026–27 | $28,132 | $35,516 | $42,900 | $50,284 | $57,668 | $65,052 | $72,436 |
| Reduced-price school meal line (also used for the ELO-P fee), 2026–27 | $40,034 | $50,542 | $61,050 | $71,558 | $82,066 | $92,574 | $103,082 |
| State preschool full-day fee starts at: 75% of state median income, 2026–27 (our arithmetic) | $75,382 | $85,281 | $102,033 | $118,358 | $134,683 | $137,744 | $140,806 |
| Voucher income line: 85% of state median income, 2026–27 | $85,434 | $96,652 | $115,637 | $134,139 | $152,641 | $156,110 | $159,580 |
| State preschool income line: 100% of state median income, 2026–27 | $100,510 | $113,708 | $136,044 | $157,811 | $179,578 | $183,659 | $187,741 |
| State preschool limited places just over the line: top monthly income, 2026–27 | $9,632 a month | $10,897 a month | $13,038 a month | $15,124 a month | $17,210 a month | $17,601 a month | $17,992 a month |
What would a year cost a family like ours?
The calculator opens on a family of four in Los Angeles County earning $58,000. Their child turns 4 by September 1, both parents work full days, and they need summer care. Its headline gives the answer first: full-day state preschool is their cheapest way to cover the year, about $1,000–$1,300 for the roughly three weeks it leaves open. That’s about $15,100–$18,900 less than a private centre, if they get a seat (our estimate).
- A private centre runs about $16,300–$19,900 a year. That’s the 2021 survey’s middle and 75th-percentile prices, carried forward and multiplied by 12 (our arithmetic).
- TK with after-school care costs $0 in tuition. The after-school part is ELO-P, the Expanded Learning Opportunities Program. It’s state-funded care before and after school and on school breaks, which school districts and charter schools can run for TK through 6th grade. At $58,000 the family is under the $61,050 reduced-price meal line for four. So ELO-P can’t charge them, if their district or school runs it. That can still leave about 10 weeks a year: 260 weekdays, minus 180 school days and the 30 non-school days ELO-P must offer. Ten weeks at Los Angeles centre rates is roughly $3,700–$4,500 (our estimate).
- Their income qualifies for full-day state preschool, and it’s free below $102,033 for four. They’d usually also have to show a reason they need care, such as work, and a place has to open.
- Head Start’s income limit is too low for them. They’re above both the $33,000 poverty line and the $42,900 line for its limited places. But income isn’t the only way in: public assistance, foster care and homelessness all qualify at any income. A program may also fill up to 10% of its places with families who meet none of those tests, and it can adjust income for very high housing costs.
- A child care voucher, which helps pay a provider you choose, takes incomes up to $115,637 for four, if they show a reason they need care. After children in protective services, the lowest incomes are served first.
Now switch to San Diego County and $130,000. Their income still qualifies for full-day state preschool, at a flat $79 a month on CDE’s 2026–27 fee schedule. They’re over the voucher’s income limit. ELO-P can charge a fee the district or school sets. Head Start is open to them only if they qualify another way. A private San Diego centre runs about $15,200–$18,600 a year. Counting the weeks state preschool leaves open, the calculator puts its year at about $1,900–$2,100. At $130,000, full-day state preschool’s family fee is still under $1,000 a year, if you get a seat.
At either income, we’d apply for the free seats before signing a private contract. Applying costs little, and a seat can open after you’ve started paying somewhere else.
What does private preschool cost where we live?
The private bar is the only row priced entirely from a list: the state’s 2021 Regional Market Rate survey. The other bars use the same survey’s weekly prices for the weeks a route leaves open. The California Department of Social Services asked licensed providers in every county what they charge, and published the results in a county workbook. The calculator uses the centre prices for a preschool-age child, which the survey defines as 2 through 5. The full table for all 58 counties sits under the calculator.
In California’s 2021 Regional Market Rate survey of licensed centres, the middle full-time price for a preschool-age child was $1,735 a month in San Francisco County and $1,087 in Los Angeles County. Fresno County’s was $858. The national BLS price index for day care and preschool rose about 25% from 2021 to July 2026. Carried forward by it, those prices become roughly $2,170, $1,360 and $1,070 a month. That is our estimate, not observed 2026 prices.
The survey’s details matter when you hold a real quote against it. The report asked centres for their “usual, published rates for weekday care”. It told them to leave out “extended care rates (early care/late pick-up) or extra fees”. Each centre also decided for itself what full-time meant. A centre with more than one part-time rate was asked for the one it charges a child who comes Monday to Friday mornings.
Use the county estimate to see roughly where a quote sits. Say a Sacramento centre asks $1,800 a month. Our estimate for the county’s 75th-percentile price, which three in four of the survey’s weighted prices fall at or under, is about $1,420. The gap is a reason to ask what’s in the price: the hours, meals, and early or late care the survey left out. A quote near the middle estimate is about typical, as far as a 2021 survey carried forward can tell you.
The estimate is simple arithmetic. We multiplied the 2021 prices by 1.25, because the national BLS index for day care and preschool went from 317.7 in 2021 to 398.8 in July 2026. It’s a national index, so your county may have moved faster or slower.
We expected a separate price for every county. Instead, six rural counties share one figure, $681 a month: Alpine, Amador, Del Norte, Mariposa, Sierra and Tehama. The survey builds county figures from “Market Profiles”, groups of ZIP codes with similar prices. That is the likeliest reason small counties far apart share a number.
Licensed family childcare homes, care run in a provider’s own home, are often cheaper. In 45 of the 58 counties, their middle full-time price was below the centres’ (our count from the 2021 survey workbook, preschool-age children). In Los Angeles County the middle full-time price for a preschool-age child was $959 a month at a home and $1,087 at a centre in 2021.
Which free or low-cost seats can we get?
Each public option has its own rules for who gets in, what you’d pay and whether a place is promised. “Public” here means public money pays for the place, and the classroom may not look like a school.
| Program | Who can qualify | What you’d pay | Can you count on a seat? |
|---|---|---|---|
| TK | Turns 4 by September 1, 2026, for 2026–27; no income test | No tuition | The district must enroll your child, though maybe not at your nearest campus |
| State preschool, part-day | Ages 3–4; income up to $136,044 a year for a family of four in 2026–27, or another route | No family fee at any income (2026–27) | No: a priority order, then a waiting list |
| State preschool, full-day | The same, plus usually a documented need for care | $0 below $102,033 a year for four; for most families a flat fee above, $83 a month at $136,044 (2026–27) | No: the same order |
| Head Start | Ages 3 to kindergarten; income at or below $33,000 for four (2026), or public assistance, foster care or homelessness | No fee for Head Start hours | No: a ranked waiting list |
| ELO-P (before- and after-school care) | TK to 6th grade, where the district or charter school runs it | $0 at or below $61,050 for four (2026–27); a sliding fee may apply above, except for foster and homeless children | Depends on your district: some must offer it to every TK–6 student, others only to some |
TK has no income test. CDE says districts can’t keep TK waiting lists, but your district may place your child at a nearby school if yours is full. A child who isn’t 4 by September 1 waits for the first school year they are; CDE’s TK fiscal FAQ answers “No” to early entry. Our age cutoffs guide has the dates.
State preschool, which schools may call CSPP (the California State Preschool Program), is state-funded preschool for ages 3 and 4. School districts, colleges, community agencies and nonprofits run it (CDE). Some programs can also take 2-year-olds until June 30, 2027 (CDE). The income limit goes up with household size. For four it’s $136,044 a year in 2026–27. Families just over it, up to $13,038 a month for four, can fill at most 10% of a program’s places, after families who qualify (MB 26-03). Some families qualify without the income test: those on cash aid, families who are homeless or in protective services, a household with someone on Medi-Cal, CalFresh or WIC, or a child with an IEP, a special education plan (Ed. Code § 8208). To find programs, ask your county’s child care resource and referral agency. MyChildCarePlan.org is the statewide network of those agencies. Then apply to each program you want.
Qualifying isn’t a seat. For part-day places, the Education Code sets the order. Children in protective services or at risk of abuse come first. Then come children with disabilities from eligible families, then other eligible children not in TK, lowest income first, with more groups after them. So a family can qualify at a high income and still sit far down the list. The higher-income band comes near the end of that line.
Head Start is federally funded preschool from age 3 until kindergarten, and programs must also support the family’s well-being (45 CFR 1302.50). It qualifies a family on income at or below the poverty line: $33,000 for four in 2026. Public assistance, foster care or homelessness qualify at any income (45 CFR 1302.12). Once those families are served, a program may fill up to 35% of places with families below 130% of the poverty line, and up to 10% with families who meet none of those tests. A program can also adjust a family’s income for very high housing costs. Programs rank their waiting lists. Where children can get a full school day of high-quality public pre-K, most Head Start programs have to give younger children priority in their selection rules. The exception is when that would disrupt its partnership with the school district (45 CFR 1302.14). That’s why an eligible 4-year-old can sit behind a 3-year-old. To apply, find programs near you with the Head Start center locator and contact them.
These seats don’t always look public. A Head Start agency can run state preschool in the same program (CDE FAQ), and a voucher can pay a private centre. Ask a centre that looks private whether it holds a state preschool contract or takes vouchers.
What does “free” leave out?
Free tuition covers the hours a program runs. The calculator adds the weeks each route leaves open, at your county’s centre prices, so a free route still shows what a full year would cost you. TK’s day is set by your district. It must run at least 180 minutes, recess included, and generally no more than four hours of class plus recess. Districts can run longer in an early primary program or with ELO-P (CDE). PPIC puts “full-day” TK at four to six hours. Our workday planner lays those hours against yours.
ELO-P, the state’s before- and after-school program, fills the rest where your district or charter school runs it. It offers at least nine hours a school day in total, plus at least 30 non-school days. Sites in the most rural areas can offer eight (CDE ELO-P FAQ). Since 2025–26, each district declares every year whether it will run ELO-P, and it can opt out. A district that runs it, where at least 55% of students are low-income, English learners or foster youth, must offer it to every TK–6 student. Below that share, it must offer it to students in those groups. Your child isn’t signed up on their own. Ask your school for its ELO-P sign-up form. Some schools keep a waiting list when it’s full.
Whether ELO-P costs you anything is a separate question from whether you can get in. State law lets a district or charter school charge for it (Ed. Code § 46120). It can’t charge children in foster care, children who are homeless, or children who qualify for free or reduced-price meals. Other families may pay on a sliding scale, set by income and ability to pay. It also can’t charge for a day your child spends in both ELO-P and the district’s attendance recovery program. You can tell the school yourself that your child qualifies for a fee waiver. This is called self-certifying. The meal lines decide the ELO-P fee, not preschool eligibility: $42,900 for free meals and $61,050 for reduced-price, for a family of four in 2026–27 (CDE). The calculator applies the line for your household size.
Not every after-school program at a school is ELO-P. A school can list an ELO-P program and a separate after-school program side by side. ELO-P’s fee rules cover only ELO-P. So when a school mentions after-school care, a fee or a donation, ask which program it means and what it costs.
TK itself can’t charge a required fee for an educational activity (Ed. Code § 49011). A donation request is voluntary. Head Start can’t charge an enrolled Head Start family for its own hours, but a program can charge for extra care around them (45 CFR 1302.18).
We looked for a statewide price for after-school care for a 4-year-old in TK and didn’t find one. The state survey’s before- and after-school prices are for children 6 and up. That’s why the calculator never counts care outside a program’s hours as $0. It marks it with a striped ”+ ask” end for you to price locally.
If the free seats don’t fit your day, the next question is how to pay less for a private one.
Can we get help paying for a private program?
The posted price isn’t always what every family pays. Ask any private program about aid before you rule it out. UCLA Lab School, which has a pre-K class for 4-year-olds, says one in three of its families gets need-based tuition support. Need-based aid depends on the money a school has, so ask for the application and the deadline.
A parent co-op is another way in. Children’s Community Center in Berkeley is a cooperative where the standard is a parent helping one day a week, and families who help less pay more. It lists $872 to $1,162 a month for 2026–27, for its core program, Monday to Friday, 9:00 to 12:30. Families pick a tier based on their finances. The lowest tier lets a family write in what it can pay, if fundraising covers it. Care before 9:00 and after 12:30 costs extra, so compare it with a morning program, not a full day.
A child care voucher, which the state calls an Alternative Payment Program, can pay a licensed provider you choose, including a private centre. The income route runs up to 85% of state median income: $115,637 a year for a family of four in 2026–27 (CCB 26-17). An ordinary application also needs a documented need for care, such as work or school. Families in protective services or experiencing homelessness have different rules. Children in protective services are served first, then families with the lowest income for their size, so it isn’t first-come. Ask your county’s child care resource and referral agency where to apply. MyChildCarePlan.org can point you to yours.
Two costs can remain with a voucher. Families from 75% to 85% of state median income pay a flat monthly fee. It matches state preschool’s schedule: $62 to $71 a month full-time for four (CCB 26-16; CDSS fee schedule). And if a centre charges more than the voucher pays, you may owe the difference. In the 2021 survey, 38.3% of licensed centres said they charged subsidized families that balance.
The 2026–27 budget added vouchers, with a catch. The Legislative Analyst’s Office says it funds 20,700 new spaces starting October 1, 2026. A federal funding cut “effectively eliminates 4,330 CAPP slots”, the state’s name for these vouchers, so the net gain is about 16,400 (our arithmetic). That still doesn’t promise an opening near you.
Does a dependent-care FSA or the tax credit help?
It helps with your own share of the bill: tuition, a voucher fee, or the summer weeks. A dependent-care FSA, a flexible spending account, takes eligible care costs out of your pay before tax. For 2026 the limit is $7,500 a household, or $3,750 if married filing separately (IRS Publication 15-B). Your employer’s plan sets what you can elect, so check that it has raised its limit from $5,000.
A few rules decide whether it pays off (IRS Publication 503):
- The care has to let you work or look for work.
- For a married couple, the tax-free amount can’t exceed the lower earner’s earned income. Special rules cover a spouse who is a full-time student or can’t care for themselves.
- FSA money lowers the expenses you can count for the child and dependent care credit, dollar for dollar. The credit generally counts at most $3,000 of care costs for one child and $6,000 for two or more.
- An amount a voucher paid isn’t yours to claim. Your fee and any balance can be.
Ask your benefits office what happens to money you don’t spend by the plan’s deadline, and elect what you expect to use. Higher-paid staff can lose the tax break if the plan favours them. That group can include people who own 5% of the company or were paid more than $160,000 in 2025.
The FSA pays off when the tax you save beats the credit you give up. It depends on your bracket and family, so the calculator doesn’t compute it.
Is private preschool worth paying for?
In our view, money settles what you can afford, and the room decides the rest. If a free seat covers your hours and the room is warm, we’d take it. We’d pay for private care when the hours, the room, or a child who’s happy where they are makes the difference.
“Private” and “public” each cover very different rooms, from a university lab school to a district TK class. The studies our main guide covers compare a program with whatever children would have done instead. In a subsample of Tennessee’s pre-K trial, parents of 306 children who didn’t attend were interviewed: 16% of those children were in private centres. None of those studies was built to answer “private or public” for a California family.
What you can check differs by route. A licensed private centre has a public licensing record. You can look it up through the state’s facility search or our preschool search. TK has school oversight instead. The adult rules are counted differently too. A licensed centre’s ratio, such as one teacher per 12 children, applies room by room (Title 22 § 101216.3). TK’s one adult per 10 children is an average, so one room can run larger (Ed. Code § 48000). Our main guide compares the rooms in full.
Frequently asked questions
Is public preschool really free in California?
The tuition is. Most full-day state preschool families above 75% of state median income pay a flat monthly fee. At $136,044 for a family of four in 2026–27, that’s $83 a month full-time. ELO-P can charge families above the reduced-price meal line, and Head Start can charge for care beyond its own hours.
Does meeting an income line mean we get a seat?
Not for state preschool, Head Start or vouchers. Each fills places in a priority order, and income affects where you stand. TK is different: the district must enroll an age-eligible child, though maybe not at your nearest school.
Who should we call first?
Call your school district’s early education office about TK and ELO-P. Call your county’s child care resource and referral agency about state preschool and vouchers (MyChildCarePlan.org can point you to yours). Find Head Start programs with the center locator and contact them directly. Keep paying for your current care until you have a written offer and know the hours.
