Licensed Preschool in Niagara Falls, NY

Preschool in Niagara Falls

As of August 2026

8 of Niagara Falls' 49 licensed child care providers, about 16 percent, hold a QUALITYstarsNY rating, according to New York State Office of Children and Family Services records. Every provider in the city operates as a center, with no family child care homes on the roster. Combined licensed capacity reaches 1,790 children, an average of 37 per site. School-age programming leads at 42 providers, with 5 serving preschoolers and 3 each serving toddlers and infants. CloverMap lets Niagara Falls families browse this complete, verified roster.

What to know about childcare in Niagara Falls

New York State Office of Children and Family Services licensing data lists 49 child care providers in Niagara Falls, and every one is classified as a center. The roster includes no family child care homes, meaning families searching Niagara Falls will be comparing facility-based programs rather than smaller in-home settings. That difference in structure also tends to show up in daily routines, with a center more likely to follow a fixed published schedule across multiple staff-led classrooms rather than the more flexible, single-caregiver rhythm of a home setting.

Niagara Falls' 49 providers report a combined licensed capacity of 1,790 children, an average of 37 per site -- a mid-to-upper range figure compared with other cities in this batch. That suggests a mix of moderately sized centers rather than either a handful of very large campuses or a large number of very small ones. As with most centers, that capacity is likely distributed across several classrooms rather than one undivided space, so a family should expect a specific age-based group size rather than the full site total.

Age coverage in Niagara Falls includes representation across every bracket: 42 providers serve school-age children, 5 serve preschoolers, and 3 each serve toddlers and infants. That spread gives Niagara Falls a broader age mix than cities where the roster is concentrated almost entirely on school-age care.

All 49 Niagara Falls providers are licensed through the New York State Office of Children and Family Services, the agency that reviews staffing, group size, and facility conditions before granting a license. 8 Niagara Falls providers, about 16 percent of the roster, additionally hold a QUALITYstarsNY rating, the state's voluntary quality-rating and improvement system.

A Niagara Falls parent will find a roster where community organizations like the Niagara Falls Boys and Girls Club sit alongside smaller independent centers, and where infant, toddler, and preschool care each carry a real presence rather than being absent entirely. That mix means families with younger children have genuine options in Niagara Falls, not just a search that funnels toward school-age programming.

For a Niagara Falls family, this roster works best as a starting point rather than a final answer: licensing status confirms a center meets the state's baseline requirements, but details like hours, enrollment timing, and current openings still require a direct conversation with each program. Weighing a center's reported capacity against its age-group coverage, as outlined above, is one practical way to shorten that list before reaching out.