
Compare 287 child daycare & preschools in St Louis. Average rating: 4.25/5 stars. See top 10 ranked daycares, compare by type, and find the right childcare for your family.
St Louis has 287 licensed child daycare & preschools with 2,531 parent reviews averaging 4.25/5.131 are top-rated with 4.5+ stars — 50% of rated programs, well above average.The highest-rated options cluster around 63141 (avg 4.85 stars), while 63110 has the largest selection (14 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.
4008 Shreve Ave, St Louis, MO · Child Daycare & Preschools · Capacity: 16 children
Parents consistently praise Little People Learning Center for exceptional care, strong child development outcomes, and a loving, Christian-based environment. Staff are described as passionate, patient, and genuinely invested in children's growth. The facility is noted as affordable, well-organized, and the only five-star daycare in St. Louis city.
12546 Conway Rd, St Louis, MO · Child Daycare & Preschools · Capacity: 80 children
Parents consistently praise Lucky Lane as an exceptional early childhood program with caring, compassionate staff and a warm community environment. The 4-5 acre campus with extensive outdoor spaces, specialized rooms (STEM, music, library, wheel-toy room), and nature-based curriculum are frequently highlighted as standout features. Families appreciate the reasonable tuition, flexible scheduling options, and individualized attention their children receive.
100 E Adams, St Louis, MO · Church Daycare · Capacity: 62 children
First Presbyterian Church Preschool receives unanimous 5-star ratings from parents who praise the caring staff, strong teacher-student relationships, and well-rounded curriculum. Parents report their children thrive in this small, welcoming community and feel well-prepared for kindergarten. The school is noted for excellent communication with families and flexibility in scheduling options.
9001 Clayton Rd, St Louis, MO · Child Daycare & Preschools · Capacity: 44 children
Ethical Society Nursery School receives perfect 5-star ratings from parents who praise its play-based learning philosophy, nurturing teachers, and small class sizes. Parents consistently report that their children thrive academically and socially, with strong preparation for kindergarten and a welcoming community atmosphere.
8375 N Broadway Ave, St Louis, MO · Child Daycare & Preschools · Capacity: 45 children
Baden Christian Child Care Center receives universally positive feedback from parents who praise the trustworthy, loving, and clean environment. Parents consistently highlight the caring and attentive staff, strong communication, engaging activities, and the center's ability to meet individual child needs including behavioral support. Many parents express deep satisfaction and recommend the center highly.
4221 Shaw Blvd, St Louis, MO · Child Daycare & Preschools · Capacity: 60 children
This is not a daycare center but a theater company. The reviews describe Stray Dog Theatre as a high-quality local theater venue in St. Louis known for excellent performances and a welcoming atmosphere.
3800 Watson Rd, St Louis, MO · Child Daycare & Preschools · Capacity: 81 children
Mary Margaret Day Care and Learning Center receives consistently high praise from parents. All reviews are 5-star ratings, with parents highlighting the caring and college-educated staff, safe learning environment, child development outcomes, and strong communication. Parents report children are happy, engaged, and excited to attend daily.
6031 Southwest Ave, St Louis, MO · Child Daycare & Preschools · Capacity: 60 children
This is not a daycare center—it is a theater company in St. Louis. The reviews describe experiences attending live theatrical performances, not childcare services. All reviews are 5-star ratings praising the venue, performances, and staff.
6131 Leona St, St Louis, MO · Child Daycare & Preschools · Capacity: 60 children
This is not a daycare center but a theater venue. The reviews are for Stray Dog Theatre, a community theater in St. Louis, not a childcare facility. All reviews praise the theater's performances, intimate venue, and welcoming atmosphere.
2745 Meramec St, St Louis, MO · Child Daycare & Preschools · Capacity: 60 children
These reviews are for Stray Dog Theatre, a performance venue, not a daycare center. The reviews describe an intimate theater company in St. Louis that produces high-quality shows in a converted church space with consistently excellent performances and welcoming staff.
Based on 261 daycares with Google ratings in St Louis
Top qualities mentioned across 2,531 reviews, analyzed by AI
Average ratings by facility type in St Louis, based on parent reviews
St Louis zip codes ranked by average daycare rating
| Zip Code | Daycares | Avg. Rating | Top Rated | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 63141 | 11 | 4.85 | 6 | |
| 63122 | 8 | 4.8 | 4 | |
| 63109 | 6 | 4.78 | 4 | |
| 63112 | 12 | 4.62 | 4 | |
| 63116 | 10 | 4.59 | 6 | |
| 63139 | 11 | 4.58 | 5 | |
| 63110 | 14 | 4.55 | 5 | |
| 63128 | 12 | 4.54 | 4 | |
| 63146 | 6 | 4.53 | 2 | |
| 63123 | 7 | 4.5 | 2 |
Capacity distribution of daycares in St Louis (8–399 children)
Small
up to 30 children
64
Medium
31–75 children
185
Large
76–150 children
111
Very Large
150+ children
32
Highest rated daycares in St Louis based on parent reviews
4008 Shreve Ave, St Louis, MO
Parents consistently praise Little People Learning Center for exceptional care, strong child development outcomes, and a loving, Christian-based environment. Staff are described as passionate, patient, and genuinely invested in children's growth. The facility is noted as affordable, well-organized, and the only five-star daycare in St. Louis city.
12546 Conway Rd, St Louis, MO
Parents consistently praise Lucky Lane as an exceptional early childhood program with caring, compassionate staff and a warm community environment. The 4-5 acre campus with extensive outdoor spaces, specialized rooms (STEM, music, library, wheel-toy room), and nature-based curriculum are frequently highlighted as standout features. Families appreciate the reasonable tuition, flexible scheduling options, and individualized attention their children receive.
9001 Clayton Rd, St Louis, MO
Ethical Society Nursery School receives perfect 5-star ratings from parents who praise its play-based learning philosophy, nurturing teachers, and small class sizes. Parents consistently report that their children thrive academically and socially, with strong preparation for kindergarten and a welcoming community atmosphere.
8375 N Broadway Ave, St Louis, MO
Baden Christian Child Care Center receives universally positive feedback from parents who praise the trustworthy, loving, and clean environment. Parents consistently highlight the caring and attentive staff, strong communication, engaging activities, and the center's ability to meet individual child needs including behavioral support. Many parents express deep satisfaction and recommend the center highly.
4221 Shaw Blvd, St Louis, MO
This is not a daycare center but a theater company. The reviews describe Stray Dog Theatre as a high-quality local theater venue in St. Louis known for excellent performances and a welcoming atmosphere.
3800 Watson Rd, St Louis, MO
Mary Margaret Day Care and Learning Center receives consistently high praise from parents. All reviews are 5-star ratings, with parents highlighting the caring and college-educated staff, safe learning environment, child development outcomes, and strong communication. Parents report children are happy, engaged, and excited to attend daily.
St Louis offers a robust selection of 287 childcare and preschool facilities, catering to a wide variety of family needs and schedules. Parents frequently highlight clean environments, safety, and affordable pricing as key factors in their decision-making process. The directory highlights standout options in neighborhoods like 63122, where high satisfaction rates among local families are evident.
Based on Google reviews, daycares in St Louis have an average rating of 4.25 out of 5 across 261 rated facilities, with 50% scoring 4.5 stars or higher. Church Daycare facilities lead with an average of 4.61 stars. Our analysis covers 2,531 parent reviews. Parents in St Louis most frequently praise daycares for clean facility, safe environment, and professional staff.
When choosing a daycare in St Louis, consider visiting facilities in person, checking their licensing status, and asking about staff-to-child ratios, daily routines, and safety policies.
Showing 287 results
Busy Bee Learning Center receives mixed reviews. Positive reviews highlight attentive staff, patient teaching methods, and support with developmental milestones like potty training. However, negative reviews report concerns about the infant/toddler building, with some parents noting their children were unhappy and reluctant to attend.
Feedback for this center is mixed, with one parent expressing satisfaction with long-term attendance while another details significant safety and operational failures. The critical review highlights unreported injuries, missing personal items, and allegations of unauthorized fee charges.
Loving Hearts Child Care Center has highly polarized reviews. Positive reviews praise cleanliness, staff communication, teacher quality, and happy children. Negative reviews report serious concerns including pest infestations, inappropriate staff behavior, alleged physical abuse, poor building maintenance, and financial issues with the owner.
Parents highlight the center's small, welcoming atmosphere and teachers who foster early literacy and happiness, while others report severe issues including staff turnover, unprofessional management, and allegations of physical aggression and neglect.
Recent feedback indicates significant dissatisfaction, with one parent describing a disappointing experience that led to their child not returning. Another reviewer cited operational issues, including a non-functional air conditioning system and questionable staff conduct, while a third simply expressed dislike.
One parent reports a highly positive three-year experience, highlighting excellent teachers and effective early learning, while another review appears unrelated to childcare services. A separate complaint describes a toxic work environment involving racial discrimination and wasted time, though it is unclear if this reflects the daily care experience for children.
One parent describes a highly positive experience, expressing strong affection for the center. Conversely, another parent reports significant dissatisfaction, citing frequent behavioral issues, excessive illness, and concerns about staff competence and misdiagnosis.
A single parent criticizes the center for being severely understaffed and disorganized, citing instances where children were left unsupervised and injured. Another reviewer echoes these concerns, stating they do not recommend the facility due to insufficient teachers and poor management.
One parent reports exceptional care, noting their child's happiness, strong academic head start, and the staff's professionalism and clear rules. Conversely, another parent cites severe communication failures, understaffing, and unprofessional management that forced them to switch daycares.
One parent highlights the center's acceptance of subsidies, large outdoor space, and favorable staff-to-child ratios, while another notes the lack of transportation services. However, other feedback describes the program as lacking educational structure for toddlers and failing to assist with potty training, with one reviewer citing staff issues and recommending against enrollment.
These reviews appear to be for a mental health clinic, not a daycare center. The reviews are mismatched to the facility listed (FAMILYFORWARD daycare in St. Louis). Reviews describe experiences with psychiatrists and mental health services, with highly mixed feedback ranging from exceptional individual doctors to serious complaints about administrative issues and medication management.
This is not a daycare center—it is Christian Hospital Northeast-Northwest, a medical facility in St. Louis. The reviews provided are patient/hospital visitor experiences, not parent reviews of childcare services. There appears to be a data mismatch.
Parents consistently praise Jump Start Learning Center for its educational approach, clean facility, and friendly staff. Children show measurable academic progress and enthusiasm about attending. The center is noted for serving home-cooked, non-processed meals and maintaining strong parent communication.
Baby Steps Academy II LLC has highly polarized reviews. Positive reviewers praise the educational programs, staff care, school preparation, and activities. Negative reviewers report billing disputes, mistreatment of children, poor hygiene practices, staff conduct concerns, and deceptive fees.
One parent reports their son loves the program, while others cite significant concerns regarding the director's ability to handle toddlers, a lack of educational curriculum, and poor communication under new management. Feedback warns that staff may withdraw care for behavioral issues and suggests the center functions more like babysitting than structured early learning.
One parent reports serious safety and access concerns, alleging staff physically pushed a child, cursed at students, and blocked parent entry under the guise of post-pandemic restrictions. Another review mentions a racist vibe and alleges that teachers hit students, leading to the child's removal from the program.
Parents report severe safety and hygiene failures, including pest infestations, staff smoking on premises, and physical abuse such as broken fingers and split lips. Reviewers allege that staff cover up incidents, encourage children to lie to parents, and foster an environment of unchecked bullying. Additionally, parents describe the management as unprofessional, rude, and primarily motivated by financial gain rather than child care.
House of Montessori Education has highly polarized reviews. While a few early parents report positive experiences with caring staff, the majority of recent reviews cite serious concerns including mismanagement, nepotism, safety issues, inappropriate staff behavior, and allegations involving a convicted sex offender on premises.
One parent describes the facility as 'Not a place for children!' and rates it 1 out of 5 stars. No specific reasons for this rating are provided in the single review available.
One parent reports being given only three weeks' notice to find alternative care due to alleged staffing shortages involving a three-year-old, while another describes a teacher pinching a seven-month-old baby. Additional complaints include the presence of intoxicated individuals on the premises, unexplained injuries to children, and allegations of improper billing practices where fees were charged for absent children.
Parents consistently praise KinderCare Hampton for its caring, attentive staff and strong leadership under director Shuai. The facility excels in communication through a daily app with photos and updates, age-appropriate learning activities, and creating a welcoming environment where children thrive. All 10 reviews are 5-star ratings highlighting staff compassion, cleanliness, and parent peace of mind.
Provident Inc offers mental health and counseling services with mixed reviews. While some clients praise the clean facilities, attentive staff, and helpful services, others report significant issues with administrative processes, staff courtesy, and service limitations.
Parents overwhelmingly praise this Urban League facility for its educational approach, caring staff, and community resources. Most reviews highlight the quality of teachers and the emphasis on early childhood education. However, there are serious allegations regarding safety concerns and disciplinary practices from two reviewers.
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