Aurora is Colorado's third-largest city and sits squarely in the Denver-metro price range, well above the national median, with the southeast master-planned communities around Southlands, Tallgrass, Saddle Rock, and Murphy Creek in the Cherry Creek School District footprint setting the top. The Original Aurora, Colfax-corridor, and northwest neighborhoods sit lower. Colorado's Universal Preschool program funds about 15 hours a week for four-year-olds, which offsets part of the bill the year before kindergarten.
In 2026 dollars, full-time center-based daycare in Aurora, Colorado runs roughly $1,475 to $2,050 per month for infants and roughly $1,125 to $1,550 per month for preschool-age children, placing Aurora squarely in the Denver-metro range and well above the national median. Licensed family child care, regulated by the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), often runs close to center rates in Aurora because demand is high and licensed home slots are scarce. These ranges come from the U.S. Department of Labor's National Database of Childcare Prices for Arapahoe and Adams Counties and Colorado market-rate work, not single-point averages.
Infant care in Aurora prices 25 to 35 percent above preschool-age care because of staffing ratios. Colorado sets the licensed center infant ratio at 1:5 for children under 18 months under CDEC rules, stepping up as children age, so a center pays more teachers to cover an infant room than a preschool room. That arithmetic, combined with Denver-metro wages and rent along the I-225 and E-470 corridors, is what keeps Aurora infant rooms the most expensive line item in any center's budget.
| Area | Infant, center | Preschool, center | Family child care |
|---|---|---|---|
| Southlands, Tallgrass, Saddle Rock (SE) | $1,900–$2,050 / month | $1,425–$1,550 / month | $1,575–$1,700 / month |
| Murphy Creek, Sorrel Ranch | $1,825–$1,975 / month | $1,375–$1,500 / month | $1,525–$1,650 / month |
| Cherry Creek SD area, Heather Gardens | $1,775–$1,925 / month | $1,350–$1,475 / month | $1,475–$1,600 / month |
| Hampden, Dam East/West | $1,700–$1,850 / month | $1,300–$1,425 / month | $1,425–$1,550 / month |
| Mission Viejo, Seven Hills | $1,650–$1,800 / month | $1,275–$1,400 / month | $1,375–$1,500 / month |
| Central Aurora, City Center | $1,600–$1,750 / month | $1,250–$1,375 / month | $1,325–$1,450 / month |
| Del Mar, Aurora Hills | $1,550–$1,700 / month | $1,200–$1,325 / month | $1,275–$1,400 / month |
| North Aurora, Fitzsimons (Anschutz) | $1,525–$1,675 / month | $1,175–$1,300 / month | $1,250–$1,375 / month |
| Original Aurora, Colfax corridor | $1,500–$1,650 / month | $1,150–$1,275 / month | $1,225–$1,350 / month |
| Montbello edge, Green Valley Ranch (NW) | $1,475–$1,625 / month | $1,125–$1,250 / month | $1,200–$1,325 / month |
Aurora's price ladder tracks its southeast-to-northwest slope, with the newer master-planned communities around Southlands, Tallgrass, Saddle Rock, and Murphy Creek in the Cherry Creek School District footprint carrying the metro's top rates. These ranges reflect licensed care rated through Colorado Shines, the state quality rating system, not unrated providers. The Original Aurora, Colfax-corridor, and northwest neighborhoods near Green Valley Ranch sit nearer the bottom, though Aurora's floor stays well above the national median.
Yes. Universal Preschool Colorado (UPK Colorado), launched for the 2023-24 school year and administered by the Colorado Department of Early Childhood (CDEC), gives every Colorado four-year-old at least 15 hours per week of state-funded preschool the year before kindergarten, with some four-year-olds and qualifying three-year-olds eligible for more hours based on income and family factors. Aurora Public Schools, Cherry Creek School District, and Adams 12 Five Star Schools all participate, alongside community-based UPK providers across the city.
UPK Colorado is a per-child funded seat, not a full-day program, so the free benefit covers part of the week and most families layer paid wraparound care around it. Head Start and Early Head Start serve lower-income Aurora families from birth to five through grantees operating in Arapahoe and Adams Counties. Because UPK is capped at roughly 15 hours for most four-year-olds, families with infants and toddlers, or with full workdays to cover, still pay substantial private tuition.
Heads up. Universal Preschool Colorado is real and helpful, but for most four-year-olds it funds only about 15 hours a week, not a full day. It does nothing for infant and toddler care, which remains the most expensive line in any Aurora budget. Treat UPK as a partial offset, not a solution, and plan to pay private rates for the under-four years and for wraparound around the UPK seat.
Colorado's main subsidy is the Colorado Child Care Assistance Program (CCCAP), funded through the federal Child Care and Development Fund and administered locally by county human services departments, including Arapahoe County and Adams County for Aurora families. CCCAP helps families who are working, in school, or in training and who fall under the county income ceiling pay for licensed care, including infants and toddlers, with the county paying the provider and the family covering a sliding-scale share.
Approved families must use a licensed provider, and most use one rated through Colorado Shines, the state's quality rating and improvement system, which runs five levels and ties higher reimbursement to higher-rated programs. When you tour a center in Southlands, Murphy Creek, or near the Anschutz campus, the Colorado Shines level and the CDEC license status are the two state-published signals worth asking about first. Colorado's 2022 voter-approved early childhood reforms moved licensing and UPK under the single CDEC umbrella, which now oversees the whole system.
Three federal tools lower the real cost for working Aurora families: the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit on IRS Form 2441, a Dependent Care FSA at most employers (up to $5,000 per household per year in pre-tax savings), and the federal Child Tax Credit of up to $2,000 per child. Colorado adds a state Child Care Expenses Tax Credit and the Colorado Child Tax Credit, which the state expanded and made refundable for lower- and middle-income families, directly reducing a Colorado family's tax bill.
Major Aurora-area employers, including Children's Hospital Colorado and UCHealth University of Colorado Hospital on the Anschutz Medical Campus, The Medical Center of Aurora, Buckley Space Force Base, and the City of Aurora, generally offer a Dependent Care FSA through payroll. A two-earner household that funds the full $5,000 FSA typically saves roughly $1,400 to $1,750 in combined federal and Colorado tax, then adds the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit of $600 to $1,200, the Colorado Child Care Expenses Credit, and the federal and Colorado Child Tax Credits on top.
A two-income Southlands family with a one-year-old in full-time licensed center care spends roughly $1,900 to $2,050 per month, or about $22,800 to $24,600 per year, per the National Database of Childcare Prices for Arapahoe and Adams Counties and Colorado market-rate work.
If the family qualifies for CCCAP through Arapahoe or Adams County — working or in school and under the county income ceiling — the family share drops to a sliding-scale co-payment, with the county paying the provider the balance at the Colorado Shines reimbursement rate.
If the family is over the CCCAP ceiling, the full private rate stands. A Dependent Care FSA recovers $5,000 in pre-tax savings, the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit recovers another $600 to $1,200, the Colorado Child Care Expenses Credit stacks on top, and the federal and Colorado Child Tax Credits add to that. The year the child turns four, a UPK Colorado seat offsets roughly 15 hours a week of preschool cost.
Walk through the cost calculator to model your own Aurora year with UPK Colorado, CCCAP, FSA, and the federal and Colorado credits factored in. Read our subsidized daycare guide, the daycare tax credit explainer, the Colorado state cost overview, and the broader cost pillar. For listings and the full local landscape, see daycare in Aurora overall and the editorial best daycares in Aurora roundup.
Neighborhoods, listings, licensed sites, and the full Aurora early-learning landscape.
Read → SubsidiesHow CCCAP, Head Start, and Universal Preschool Colorado work and who qualifies.
Read → ToolModel your Aurora daycare year with CCCAP, UPK, FSA, and the federal and Colorado credits factored in.
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