NYC daycare violation statistics
Computed from the official DOHMH inspection record of every licensed group childcare center in New York City. Updated 2026-07-29; refreshed automatically as the records change. Cite freely with a link.
New York City has 2,733 licensed group childcare centers on DOHMH's active roster. 201 currently have at least one open critical violation. Of the 2,281 centers with an Article 47 drinking-water lead test on file, 80 have an elevated result on record.
By borough
| Borough | Licensed centers | Median critical violations (3 yr) | Mean | Centers with open critical violations | Elevated water-lead results |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Brooklyn | 1,156 | 2 | 3.27 | 102 | 12 |
| Manhattan | 581 | 2 | 3.27 | 38 | 11 |
| Queens | 549 | 3.0 | 5.72 | 29 | 20 |
| Bronx | 318 | 4.0 | 5.97 | 21 | 35 |
| Staten Island | 128 | 1.0 | 1.97 | 11 | 2 |
| Unknown | 1 | — | — | 0 | 0 |
Definitions: a "critical" violation is DOHMH's own severity class for issues posing a risk to children's health or safety; "open" means DOHMH records it as uncorrected as of our latest weekly refresh. Methodology and limitations: how we read these records.
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Where these numbers come from
Every figure is computed directly from official government records: the NYC Health Department's daily active-programs roster, its per-center inspection histories (refreshed weekly), and Article 47 water-lead test results. No survey data, no estimates, no self-reported numbers. Each center's full record is public and free on this site — for example via the neighborhood directory.