NYC Childcare Data Brief — August 2026
Data as of Aug 1, 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 centers | 2,737 (unchanged) |
| Free Pre-K / 3-K programs | 1,884 (unchanged) |
| Home-based programs (state-licensed) | 4,490 (unchanged) |
| Centers with an open critical violation | 206 (unchanged) |
| Centers with a clean recent record | 320 (unchanged) |
| Home programs with uncorrected violations | 351 (unchanged) |
| Home programs under state enforcement | 15 (unchanged) |
| Centers with elevated water-lead results | 80 (unchanged) |
Free Pre-K and 3-K seats
The DOE’s MySchools directory lists 66,702 free seats across 1,121 sites in its most recent admissions data, with 75,355 applicants — about 1.13 applicants per seat citywide. (−12 seats since last month)
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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