NYC Childcare Data Brief — August 2026

Data as of Aug 31, 2026. Every number below is computed from official government records — the city Health Department’s daily roster and inspection files, New York State’s licensing registry, and the DOE’s MySchools directory. No estimates, no survey data. Free to cite with a link.

The numbers

Licensed daycare centers2,749 (+12 since last month)
Free Pre-K / 3-K programs1,884 (unchanged)
Home-based programs (state-licensed)4,479 (−11 since last month)
Centers with an open critical violation188 (−18 since last month)
Centers with a clean recent record320 (unchanged)
Home programs with uncorrected violations322 (−29 since last month)
Home programs under state enforcement14 (−1 since last month)
Centers with elevated water-lead results78 (−2 since last month)

Free Pre-K and 3-K seats

The DOE’s MySchools directory lists 66,666 free seats across 1,121 sites in its most recent admissions data, with 75,249 applicants — about 1.13 applicants per seat citywide. (−48 seats since last month)

What changed this month

Programs whose official record changed since the start of the month, from the city and state records we track. Each links to its full record; "new open critical violation" and "enforcement action" report the government’s own status, which the program may have addressed since.

Newly listed on the city roster (32)

New state enforcement action this month (3)

New open critical violation this month (54)

About this data

Counts reflect the programs listed on official rosters on the date above. “Open critical” is the Health Department’s own severity class for issues posing a risk to children’s health or safety, not yet recorded as corrected. “Uncorrected” for home programs is the state record’s own status. Details and limitations: methodology.

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Cite this data

Free to reuse with a link (CC BY 4.0). Suggested citation:

NYC Daycare Check, “NYC Childcare Data Brief — August 2026,” computed from official NYC DOHMH, NYS OCFS, and NYC DOE records. https://nycdaycarecheck.com/briefs/2026-08

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