San Jose, the largest city in Santa Clara County and the heart of Silicon Valley, sits at the top of California's daycare market, the most expensive county in the state. Almaden Valley, Willow Glen, and Cambrian set the top of the local range, while East San Jose and Alum Rock sit lower. California is phasing in free Transitional Kindergarten for four-year-olds, but the birth-to-four years run long and costly here.
Reviewed by: a credentialed early-childhood reviewer (pending assignment).
In 2026 dollars, full-time center-based daycare in San Jose, California runs roughly $2,000 to $2,800 per month for infant care and roughly $1,600 to $2,200 per month for preschool-age care, which makes San Jose the most expensive major market in California. Licensed family child care typically charges 15 to 25 percent less than centers in the same part of town. These ranges come from the U.S. Department of Labor's National Database of Childcare Prices for Santa Clara County and the California Regional Market Rate survey, which together place Santa Clara County's child care costs above every other county in the state.
Infant care in San Jose prices 25 to 35 percent above preschool-age care because of staffing ratios. California sets a tighter caregiver-to-infant ratio for the youngest infants than for preschoolers, so a center pays more adults to cover an infant room than a preschool room. Combined with Silicon Valley wages and rents, that arithmetic keeps the infant line the most expensive item in any San Jose center's budget, per 2025 U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics wage data for the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara metro area.
| Area | Infant, center | Preschool, center | Family child care |
|---|---|---|---|
| Almaden Valley, Cambrian | $2,550–$2,800 / month | $2,000–$2,200 / month | $1,950–$2,150 / month |
| Willow Glen, Rose Garden | $2,400–$2,650 / month | $1,900–$2,100 / month | $1,845–$2,045 / month |
| Evergreen, Silver Creek | $2,250–$2,500 / month | $1,800–$1,990 / month | $1,745–$1,935 / month |
| Downtown, SoFA, North San Jose | $2,150–$2,400 / month | $1,720–$1,905 / month | $1,670–$1,850 / month |
| Berryessa, Santa Teresa | $2,070–$2,300 / month | $1,655–$1,830 / month | $1,605–$1,775 / month |
| East San Jose, Alum Rock | $2,000–$2,215 / month | $1,600–$1,770 / month | $1,550–$1,720 / month |
These ranges reflect licensed care, not unlicensed arrangements or subsidized seats. Almaden Valley, Willow Glen, and Cambrian sit at the top of the range, tracking higher household incomes and home values. East San Jose and Alum Rock sit at the bottom. Because the whole county prices high, even the lower end of San Jose's range exceeds the infant rate in most of the United States, so your child's age and the area together set the bill.
Increasingly, for four-year-olds. California is phasing in universal Transitional Kindergarten (TK), a free public grade for four-year-olds now open to all children who turn four by September 1, offered through San Jose-area public school districts, per the California Department of Education. The California State Preschool Program also funds free part-day and full-day preschool for income-eligible families across Santa Clara County.
For children under four there is no universal free program, though federal Head Start and Early Head Start serve lower-income families from birth to five. Because TK starts only at age four and may not cover a full working day on its own, most San Jose families pay private tuition through the infant, toddler, and three-year-old years, which makes birth to four the expensive stretch even with TK on the horizon.
Heads up. San Jose is the priciest daycare market in California, and free Transitional Kindergarten only helps at age four and may not span a full working day. The infant and toddler years are where the bill is steepest, and the best-rated infant rooms in Almaden Valley and Willow Glen fill early because tight infant ratios limit seats. Plan for full private tuition from birth to four, apply early for CalWORKs Child Care or the Alternative Payment Program if you are income-eligible, and enroll in TK the year your child turns four.
California helps income-eligible working families through CalWORKs Child Care and the Alternative Payment Program, administered by the California Department of Social Services under the federal Child Care and Development Fund, plus the California State Preschool Program through the California Department of Education. These pay participating providers directly with an income-based family fee, so parents can work or attend school. California has at times maintained waitlists for subsidized care, so San Jose families who may qualify should apply as early as possible.
Santa Clara County's local resource and referral agency manages much of the eligibility intake and can point families to Quality Counts California, the state's quality rating and improvement system, per the California Department of Education. When you tour a center in Willow Glen, Evergreen, or Berryessa, ask about its state license status, its Quality Counts rating, and whether it accepts subsidies first, since a licensed, participating provider is what makes the subsidy, TK transitions, and the federal credits usable.
California's state child and dependent care credit is nonrefundable and phases out at higher incomes, so on Santa Clara County tuition most San Jose families lean on three federal tools and on the expansion of Transitional Kindergarten: the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit on IRS Form 2441, a Dependent Care FSA at many 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.
Large Silicon Valley employers, including Adobe, Cisco, eBay, Kaiser Permanente, and the County of Santa Clara, often offer a Dependent Care FSA and sometimes a child care stipend through payroll. A two-earner household that funds the full $5,000 FSA typically saves roughly $1,100 to $1,500 in federal tax, then adds the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit of $600 to $1,200 and the federal Child Tax Credit of up to $2,000 per child on top, per Internal Revenue Service rules. Against San Jose's tuition, these tools help but cover only a slice of the bill.
A two-income Willow Glen family with a one-year-old in full-time licensed center care spends roughly $2,400 to $2,650 per month, or about $28,800 to $31,800 per year, per the National Database of Childcare Prices for Santa Clara County and the California Regional Market Rate survey.
If the family is income-eligible for CalWORKs Child Care or the Alternative Payment Program through the California Department of Social Services, the cost drops to an income-based family fee at a participating provider, though a waitlist may apply.
If the family is over the income limit, the full private rate stands until free Transitional Kindergarten at age four, but a Dependent Care FSA recovers $5,000 in pre-tax savings, the federal Child and Dependent Care Credit recovers another $600 to $1,200, and the federal Child Tax Credit of up to $2,000 per child stacks on top.
Is daycare cheaper in San Jose than in San Francisco?
They are close, and both are at the top of the state. San Jose infant care runs roughly $2,000 to $2,800 per month at centers, similar to San Francisco, per the National Database of Childcare Prices for Santa Clara and San Francisco counties and the California Regional Market Rate survey. Both share the same state infant ratio and the same CalWORKs and Alternative Payment subsidy systems, so neighborhood incomes and rents drive the difference.
How do I apply for California child care subsidies in San Jose?
Apply through Santa Clara County's local resource and referral agency, which handles intake for CalWORKs Child Care, the Alternative Payment Program, and the California State Preschool Program under the federal Child Care and Development Fund, per the California Department of Social Services and the California Department of Education. You will need to show work or training activity and income eligibility, then choose a participating provider and be ready for a possible waitlist.
Walk through the cost calculator to model your own San Jose year with CalWORKs or the Alternative Payment Program, TK, the FSA, and the federal credits factored in. Read our California child care subsidy guide, the subsidized daycare explainer, and the broader cost pillar. To compare nearby Bay Area markets, see daycare cost in Oakland and San Francisco.
How San Francisco tuition compares, area by area, with the same California subsidy systems.
Read → SubsidiesHow CalWORKs Child Care, the Alternative Payment Program, and State Preschool work and who qualifies.
Read → ToolModel your San Jose daycare year with the subsidy, TK, the federal credits, and the FSA factored in.
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