Licensed Before & After School in San Diego, CA

Before & After School in San Diego

As of August 2026

San Diego's licensing roster runs to 1,022 providers, and family child care homes make up the majority at 600 against 422 centers. That home-leaning mix means a large share of San Diego's child care supply comes from smaller, residence-based settings rather than large multi-classroom facilities. Combined licensed capacity reaches 33,818 slots, an average of 33 per provider across the California Department of Social Services' Community Care Licensing Division's roster. CloverMap indexes all 1,022 of these verified San Diego listings for parents comparing options by type and age group served.

What to know about childcare in San Diego

San Diego's 1,022 licensed providers split 422 centers to 600 family child care homes, putting homes ahead by a meaningful margin — about 59% of the roster. Centers generally bring dedicated classrooms, multiple staff, and structured daily schedules; family child care homes operate out of a provider's residence with a smaller group of children, often across mixed ages, and can offer more flexible or extended hours than a typical center. With homes outnumbering centers here, San Diego families searching broadly are statistically more likely to find a home-based option nearby than in cities where centers dominate.

Licensed capacity across the San Diego roster totals 33,818 children, which works out to roughly 33 slots per provider on average. Because family child care homes typically hold far fewer children than centers, that citywide average is being pulled upward by the 422 centers in the mix even though homes are more numerous. Capacity figures reflect what a provider is licensed to hold, not current openings, so confirming availability directly with a provider remains a necessary step.

Age coverage is strong across the board: 676 providers report serving infants, 676 report serving toddlers, 857 report serving preschool-age children, and 662 report serving school-age children. Preschool is the most widely covered age group at about 84% of the roster, while infant and toddler coverage sits at 66% — notable given how few providers nationally are willing to take on the ratio requirements that infant care demands. School-age coverage, relevant for families needing before- or after-school placements, comes in at 65%.

All of these providers are licensed through the California Department of Social Services' Community Care Licensing Division, which sets and enforces separate standards for centers and family child care homes covering staffing ratios, health and safety, and the physical space itself. A license on file means CCLD reviewed the operator against those standards before it could enroll children; it does not by itself indicate day-to-day quality on its own.

Given how home-heavy San Diego's roster is, parents who assume centers are the default may be missing the bulk of what's actually available locally. One listing in the roster, ADOBE BLUFFS PRESCHOOL, shows the kind of smaller, community-rooted option that sits alongside the city's larger centers. Filtering search results by provider type first, then narrowing by the child's age, is the most direct way to work through 1,022 San Diego listings.