
Compare 766 daycare centers in Chicago. Average rating: 4.3/5 stars. See top 10 ranked daycares, compare by type, and find the right childcare for your family.
Chicago has 766 licensed daycares with 6,073 parent reviews averaging 4.3/5.297 are top-rated with 4.5+ stars — 51% of rated programs, well above average.The highest-rated options cluster around 60642 (avg 4.88 stars), while 60618 has the largest selection (27 programs).Start with our top-10 ranked list below or filter by philosophy.
Ranked using a weighted score that combines Google rating with the number of parent reviews — daycares with more reviews rank higher than those with a high rating but few reviews. Last updated: March 2026.
1001 N Milwaukee Ave, Ste C100, Chicago, IL · Child Daycare & Preschools · Capacity: 17 children
Caterpillar Care Corporation receives unanimous 5-star ratings from parents who praise the attentive, compassionate staff and engaging curriculum. Parents consistently highlight excellent daily communication through the Brightwheel app with frequent photo updates, and note their children showed enthusiasm for attending and made strong developmental progress. Families express deep gratitude for the quality care and peace of mind the center provided.
2335 North Orchard, Chicago, IL · Child Daycare & Preschools · Capacity: 60 children
Park West Cooperative Nursery School is a highly regarded play-based preschool in Chicago's Lincoln Park area with a strong cooperative community model where parents are actively involved. Parents consistently praise the experienced, compassionate teachers who prioritize individualized child development, meaningful relationships, and social-emotional learning. Children are reported to thrive academically and socially, with strong preparation for kindergarten.
5752 S Pulaski Rd, # 54, Chicago, IL · Child Daycare & Preschools · Capacity: 50 children
The Little Scholars Club receives perfect 5-star ratings from all parents, who praise the nurturing environment, dedicated staff (particularly the three Herrera sisters), and significant child development across academic, social, and emotional areas. Parents consistently highlight excellent communication via daily app updates, a warm family-like atmosphere, and teachers who go above and beyond. Multiple long-term families credit the center with providing strong foundational s
6203 W Montrose Ave, # 05, Chicago, IL · Child Daycare & Preschools · Capacity: 42 children
Promiseland Learning Center receives perfect 5/5 ratings across all reviews. Parents consistently praise the center for strong academic instruction, emotional development support, clean facilities, and dedicated staff led by director Astrid. Children show significant growth in academics, social skills, and language development.
4809 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL · Child Daycare & Preschools · Capacity: 47 children
Concordia Day in Chicago receives universal 5-star reviews from parents who praise the caring staff, strong communication, and developmental support across all age groups from infants through preschool. Parents consistently highlight the welcoming community atmosphere, individualized attention to children, and the school's mission-driven approach to early childhood education.
1701 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL · Child Daycare & Preschools · Capacity: 13 children
Caterpillar Care Corporation receives consistently excellent reviews from parents across its Chicago locations. Parents praise the nurturing environment, strong communication, quality staff, and age-appropriate curriculum that supports children's development and excitement about attending.
3250 West Foster Avenue, Chicago, IL · Child Daycare & Preschools · Capacity: 63 children
Luna Park Nursery School & Kindergarten in Chicago receives unanimous 5-star ratings from parents who praise the caring, knowledgeable staff and play-based, low-tech curriculum. Parents consistently highlight strong teacher-child relationships, responsive communication, affordability, and a welcoming community atmosphere. Children show enthusiasm for attending and demonstrate developmental progress across all age groups from infants to preschool.
5250 North Christiana Avenue, Chicago, IL · Church Daycare · Capacity: 20 children
Parents consistently praise North Park Church Preschool for its warm, play-based learning environment and exceptionally caring teachers, particularly Ms. Lyndsey and Ms. Jen. Children reportedly thrive socially, emotionally, and academically while enjoying creative activities, outdoor play, and a welcoming community. The facility offers affordable part-time programming in a bright, well-equipped classroom space within a church building.
1436 W Randolph St, Ste 100, Chicago, IL · Child Daycare & Preschools · Capacity: 62 children
Green Beginnings LLC is a highly-regarded center-based daycare in Chicago's West Loop with perfect 5-star ratings across all reviews. Parents consistently praise the warm, inviting environment, caring and attentive teachers, and engaged owners (Katie and Krissy) who are actively involved in daily operations. Children reportedly thrive academically and emotionally, with parents noting significant developmental growth and strong emotional connections to the facility.
3811 North Lincoln Avenue, Chicago, IL · Child Daycare & Preschools · Capacity: 49 children
Kidz Creative Corner receives unanimous 5-star reviews from parents who praise the warm, nurturing environment and dedicated staff. Parents consistently report their children are happy, engaged, and excited to attend, with strong communication from teachers about development and progress. The center is noted for providing quality early education with age-appropriate activities across infant through pre-K classrooms.
Based on 584 daycares with Google ratings in Chicago
Top qualities mentioned across 6,073 reviews, analyzed by AI
Average ratings by facility type in Chicago, based on parent reviews
Chicago zip codes ranked by average daycare rating
| Zip Code | Daycares | Avg. Rating | Top Rated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 60642 | 7 | 4.88 | 5 | |
| 60625 | 16 | 4.8 | 10 | |
| 60618 | 27 | 4.7 | 14 | |
| 60610 | 9 | 4.69 | 5 | |
| 60707 | 5 | 4.64 | 4 | |
| 60646 | 8 | 4.62 | 4 | |
| 60614 | 22 | 4.62 | 8 | |
| 60630 | 6 | 4.6 | 4 | |
| 60623 | 12 | 4.59 | 7 | |
| 60631 | 7 | 4.58 | 4 |
Capacity distribution of daycares in Chicago (10–503 children)
Small
up to 30 children
110
Medium
31–75 children
393
Large
76–150 children
202
Very Large
150+ children
61
Highest rated daycares in Chicago based on parent reviews
1001 N Milwaukee Ave, Ste C100, Chicago, IL
Caterpillar Care Corporation receives unanimous 5-star ratings from parents who praise the attentive, compassionate staff and engaging curriculum. Parents consistently highlight excellent daily communication through the Brightwheel app with frequent photo updates, and note their children showed enthusiasm for attending and made strong developmental progress. Families express deep gratitude for the quality care and peace of mind the center provided.
2335 North Orchard, Chicago, IL
Park West Cooperative Nursery School is a highly regarded play-based preschool in Chicago's Lincoln Park area with a strong cooperative community model where parents are actively involved. Parents consistently praise the experienced, compassionate teachers who prioritize individualized child development, meaningful relationships, and social-emotional learning. Children are reported to thrive academically and socially, with strong preparation for kindergarten.
5752 S Pulaski Rd, # 54, Chicago, IL
The Little Scholars Club receives perfect 5-star ratings from all parents, who praise the nurturing environment, dedicated staff (particularly the three Herrera sisters), and significant child development across academic, social, and emotional areas. Parents consistently highlight excellent communication via daily app updates, a warm family-like atmosphere, and teachers who go above and beyond. Multiple long-term families credit the center with providing strong foundational s
6203 W Montrose Ave, # 05, Chicago, IL
Promiseland Learning Center receives perfect 5/5 ratings across all reviews. Parents consistently praise the center for strong academic instruction, emotional development support, clean facilities, and dedicated staff led by director Astrid. Children show significant growth in academics, social skills, and language development.
4809 N Ravenswood Ave, Chicago, IL
Concordia Day in Chicago receives universal 5-star reviews from parents who praise the caring staff, strong communication, and developmental support across all age groups from infants through preschool. Parents consistently highlight the welcoming community atmosphere, individualized attention to children, and the school's mission-driven approach to early childhood education.
1701 W Chicago Ave, Chicago, IL
Caterpillar Care Corporation receives consistently excellent reviews from parents across its Chicago locations. Parents praise the nurturing environment, strong communication, quality staff, and age-appropriate curriculum that supports children's development and excitement about attending.
Navigating childcare options in Chicago involves exploring a diverse landscape of 766 facilities, ranging from large centers to intimate home-based care. Parents consistently highlight clean environments, safe settings, and attentive staff as the primary reasons for their satisfaction. For those seeking highly-rated options, the 60642 zip code stands out as a neighborhood with exceptional performance across its seven local facilities.
Based on Google reviews, daycares in Chicago have an average rating of 4.3 out of 5 across 584 rated facilities, with 51% scoring 4.5 stars or higher. Church Daycare facilities lead with an average of 4.7 stars. Our analysis covers 6,073 parent reviews. Parents in Chicago most frequently praise daycares for clean facility, safe environment, and caring and attentive staff.
When choosing a daycare in Chicago, consider visiting facilities in person, checking their licensing status, and asking about staff-to-child ratios, daily routines, and safety policies.
Showing 766 results
A few parents report significant concerns regarding unprofessional leadership, poor communication, and staff neglect, including excessive phone use and dishonesty. While one reviewer highlights a positive experience with a specific teacher, others describe the service as horrible and advise against enrollment.
One parent highlights the center's success in fostering independence and academic milestones through dedicated staff, while other reviews allege serious safety failures, including unaddressed injuries and viral reports of child harm.
One parent highlights the center's success in fostering independence and academic milestones through dedicated staff, while other reviews allege severe neglect and physical injury to children. These conflicting accounts describe a facility praised for educational outcomes by one family but condemned for safety failures by others.
Recent reviews allege severe physical abuse, including pinching and hitting, by a staff member named Miss Deja, resulting in documented bruises on a child. Parents report that the administration attempted to conceal the incident and that the facility is currently under investigation by DCFS and the Chicago Police Department for these actions.
Feedback for KREATIVE KIDZ ACADEMY IV is sharply divided, with one parent praising the new director while others describe severe issues including unprofessional management, lack of communication, and poor care standards. Critics report specific incidents of neglect, such as failing to clean a child after an accident, frequent staff turnover, and an environment focused on profit rather than child welfare.
One parent reports a serious allegation of physical abuse against a staff member involving an autistic child, citing a lump on the head and unresponsive staff, while another former student recalls a terrible experience from 21 years ago and a third expresses unease about the facility. A single positive review describes the center as professional, caring, and safe. The few reviews so far present a starkly divided view ranging from extreme safety concerns to brief satisfaction.
One parent contrasts a positive experience at an Aurora location with significant dissatisfaction at the Chicago center, citing unresponsiveness and rude enrollment staff. The reviewer specifically highlights poor communication and an aggressive approach to subsidy paperwork that ignores individual financial circumstances.
BLOCKS Infant Toddler Child Care Center has experienced significant operational and management issues according to parent reviews. While some parents praise individual staff members and caretakers, the facility is heavily criticized for unethical billing practices, poor management responsiveness, unprofessional conduct during tours, and lack of follow-up communication with prospective parents.
All reviews are 1-star ratings citing a critical incident where a 1-year-old child was left locked inside the daycare in the dark after the facility closed early. Parents report severe safety and supervision failures, including lack of proper attendance tracking, failure to notify parents of early closure, and staff mistaking the child for a doll. Multiple reviewers question why the facility remains open and call for it to be shut down by authorities.
All reviews are 1-star ratings citing a critical incident where a 1-year-old child was left alone in a locked, dark daycare after closing time. Parents express serious concerns about staff negligence, inadequate child accounting procedures, and lack of proper parent pickup protocols. Multiple reviewers question why the facility remains operational.
One parent reports that staff requested their child stay home to avoid impacting assessment grades and demanded specific medical details for a non-contagious skin condition despite a doctor's note. The reviewer warns prospective families to admit their child at their own risk due to perceived unprofessionalism.
One parent describes an extremely negative enrollment experience, citing the owner's rudeness and unprofessionalism. Another review alleges that the owner lacks patience, speaks poorly to staff and parents, and engages in dishonest behavior.
One parent describes a highly negative enrollment experience, citing the owner's rudeness and unprofessionalism. Another reviewer claims to have witnessed the owner treating staff and parents disrespectfully, including making unprofessional statements about staff patience. A third account echoes the complaint of rude behavior during the enrollment process.
One parent highlights staff friendliness, noting that Joel provided helpful advice. The review expresses gratitude for the assistance received without detailing specific childcare operations.
One parent reports a 1-star experience, citing frequent student illness, unstaffed security concerns including a stolen phone, and frequent teacher turnover without notification. The reviewer also notes the absence of cameras and a lack of communication regarding field trips.
Parents highlight the center's convenient location for those working in the Loop, noting its large, clean facilities and extensive toy selection. Reviewers appreciate the staff's kindness and the program's ability to maintain individual schedules, including naps, while offering engaging learning activities.
Parents consistently praise this KinderCare location for its dedicated, caring staff who treat children as family members. Children show measurable progress in academics, speech, potty training, and emotional development. Families appreciate the responsive communication, flexible approach to individual needs, and engaging activities.
Parents consistently praise Kids & Company South Loop for exceptional staff care, educational development, and transparent communication. Children reportedly enjoy attending and show visible progress in learning and social skills. The center is noted for its warm, family-like environment and flexibility for working parents.
Bernard Horwich J.C.C. Preschool is a community center with a preschool program that receives consistently positive feedback. Parents praise the clean facilities, friendly staff, and variety of programs including swimming, gym facilities, and extracurricular activities. The center offers gender-separate swimming and workout areas, which parents appreciate.
Rainforest Learning Center receives exclusively positive reviews from parents who praise the nurturing teachers, engaging curriculum, and strong community atmosphere. Parents highlight the center's distinctive seasonal performances and shows as a major strength, along with responsive administration and individualized attention to each child. Multiple families report long-term enrollment and high satisfaction across all age groups from infants through preschool.
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