A short, honest guide to Yonkers daycare.
Yonkers is the fourth-largest city in New York State and the largest in Westchester County. Daycare tuition runs noticeably below Manhattan and below the wealthiest pockets of southern Westchester (Bronxville, Scarsdale, Rye), but the Bronxville border, Crestwood, and Lawrence Park West neighborhoods carry true New York City-adjacent pricing. The good news: New York has one of the most generous Universal Pre-K systems in the country, and Yonkers Public Schools has invested heavily in delivery.
Universal Pre-K (UPK) in Yonkers
Yonkers Public Schools delivers free, full-school-year Universal Pre-K to every four-year-old Yonkers resident, regardless of family income, through a mixed-delivery model that combines district-run UPK classrooms at neighborhood elementaries and partnerships with community-based daycares. UPK in Yonkers runs as a full-day program at most sites, with extended-day wrap-around care available through community partners at additional cost. Three-year-old (3K) seats are far more limited and prioritized by need. Read our New York UPK walkthrough.
Source: Yonkers Public Schools Early Childhood Education Office, 2024-2025 enrollment data. Approximately 78 percent of four-year-old Yonkers residents enrolled in UPK in 2024-2025, with the largest share served through community-based partner sites.
QUALITYstarsNY in Westchester
QUALITYstarsNY is the statewide quality rating and improvement system, administered locally by the Westchester regional hub. Centers and family child care homes are rated from 1 to 5 stars on learning environment, qualifications and experience, family engagement, and management and leadership. Many subsidy-accepting providers in Westchester now participate, and the rating is steadily becoming a prerequisite for state-funded preschool partnerships. In our Yonkers directory you can filter by QUALITYstarsNY rating.
New York licensing and ratios
New York State Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS) regulates child care under 18 NYCRR Parts 413-418. Day care center ratios are 1:4 for infants under 18 months, 1:5 for toddlers 18 to 36 months, 1:7 for three-year-olds, 1:8 for four-year-olds, and 1:9 for five-year-olds. Every legal daycare in New York is regulated by OCFS, with the exception of small registered family child care homes which carry separate registration rules. Every provider in our Yonkers directory is cross-checked against the OCFS licensing database monthly, and we flag any active citations.
Where Yonkers parents tend to overpay
- Bronxville border, Crestwood, and Lawrence Park West premium infant centers when a QUALITYstarsNY 4-star program in Park Hill, Cross County, or Yonkers Heights runs $400 to $700 less per month.
- Add-on enrichment fees (Spanish, music, swim) marketed as optional but priced into the standard week.
- Paying full freight for a private preschool when Yonkers UPK is now free for every four-year-old, full-day, at neighborhood elementaries and partner community sites.
- Skipping the registered family child care home option without comparing prices — Yonkers FCC homes typically run $400 to $700 less per month than centers, with bilingual English-Spanish programs especially common in Nodine Hill, Getty Square, and Lincoln Park.
Financial help
In addition to UPK, working Yonkers families up to 85 percent of state median income may qualify for the New York State Child Care Assistance Program through the Child Care Council of Westchester. Westchester County applies the New York State market rate updated in 2024 under amended Title 18 NYCRR Part 415. All families can use the federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, the New York State Empire State Child Credit, and, if offered through work, a Dependent Care FSA. Our tax credit explainer walks through the math at common Yonkers income levels.
Before your first tour, download the free DaycareSquare comparison checklist and the tour questions list.
