Child Care Subsidy Program
Alabama child care subsidy. Administered by: Alabama Department of Human Resources
Alabama state guide
Childcare centers in Alabama
Alabama has 1,841 childcare centers and homes in its state licensing records, across 300 cities, with about 115,000 licensed seats at the 1,830 centers that report capacity. Alabama Department of Human Resources, Child Care Services Division handles licensing. This guide covers how to check a license, quality ratings, how subsidy works, and how to find a center in your city.
Data updated October 1, 2026 · Source: Alabama Department of Human Resources, Child Care Services Division (opens in a new tab) public records · How we compile this →
Largest cities for childcare in Alabama
Ranked by centers and homes on file. Each city page lists every center in that city.
- 01Birmingham184 centers and homes
- 02Montgomery159 centers and homes
- 03Mobile136 centers and homes
- 04Huntsville95 centers and homes
- 05Bessemer59 centers and homes
- 06Dothan43 centers and homes
- 07Tuscaloosa41 centers and homes
- 08Decatur39 centers and homes
- 09Opelika31 centers and homes
- 10Madison27 centers and homes
- 11Anniston23 centers and homes
- 12Auburn23 centers and homes
Centers and homes listed per city, of 1,841 in Alabama.
All 300 Alabama citiesAll 300 cities in Alabama, A to Z
Jump to a letter, or open a group below.
A · 24 cities
- Abbeville3 centers
- Adamsville4 centers
- Alabaster10 centers
- Albertville4 centers
- Alex City1 center
- Alexander City7 centers
- Alexandria1 center
- Aliceville4 centers
- Allgood1 center
- Altoona1 center
- Andalusia12 centers
- Anniston23 centers
- Arab3 centers
- Ardmore2 centers
- Ariton1 center
- Arley1 center
- Ashford2 centers
- Ashland4 centers
- Ashville1 center
- Athens12 centers
- Atmore11 centers
- Attalla5 centers
- Auburn23 centers
- Autaugaville1 center
B · 23 cities
- Baileyton1 center
- Banks1 center
- Bay Minette9 centers
- Bayou La Batre1 center
- Bayou Labatre1 center
- Bessemer59 centers
- Bham1 center
- Billingsley1 center
- Birmimgham1 center
- Birmingham184 centers
- Blountsville5 centers
- Boaz2 centers
- Brantley1 center
- Brewton7 centers
- Bridgeport1 center
- Brighton5 centers
- Brilliant1 center
- Brookwood1 center
- Brownsboro2 centers
- Brundidge4 centers
- Bryant1 center
- Burkville1 center
- Butler3 centers
C · 27 cities
- Calera9 centers
- Camden2 centers
- Camp Hill3 centers
- Carbon Hill1 center
- Carrollton2 centers
- Cecil1 center
- Cedar Bluff2 centers
- Center Point1 center
- Centerpoint3 centers
- Centre4 centers
- Centreville5 centers
- Chatom1 center
- Chelsea3 centers
- Chickasaw2 centers
- Childersburg2 centers
- Citronelle3 centers
- Clanton5 centers
- Clay1 center
- Cleveland1 center
- Coker1 center
- Columbiana3 centers
- Columbus3 centers
- Cordova3 centers
- Cottondale1 center
- Creola1 center
- Crossville3 centers
- Cullman12 centers
D · 12 cities
E · 14 cities
F · 14 cities
G · 14 cities
H · 27 cities
- Hackleburg1 center
- Haleyville5 centers
- Hamilton4 centers
- Hampton Cove1 center
- Hanceville3 centers
- Hartford3 centers
- Hartselle3 centers
- Harvest8 centers
- Hazel Green4 centers
- Hazelgreen1 center
- Headland1 center
- Heflin5 centers
- Helena5 centers
- Highland Home2 centers
- Hillsboro1 center
- Hobson City1 center
- Hokes Bluff1 center
- Holly Pond1 center
- Hollywood1 center
- Holt1 center
- Homewood3 centers
- Honoraville1 center
- Hoover15 centers
- Hope Hull1 center
- Hueytown15 centers
- Huntsville95 centers
- Hurtsboro1 center
J · 5 cities
L · 15 cities
M · 23 cities
- Madison27 centers
- Marion4 centers
- Maylene2 centers
- Mccalla4 centers
- Mcintosh2 centers
- Meridianville11 centers
- Midfield6 centers
- Midland City1 center
- Millbrook11 centers
- Millport1 center
- Mobile136 centers
- Monroeville11 centers
- Montevallo1 center
- Montgomery159 centers
- Moody2 centers
- Morris1 center
- Moulton3 centers
- Moundville1 center
- Mount Vernon2 centers
- Mt Vernon2 centers
- Mt. Olive1 center
- Munford2 centers
- Muscle Shoals6 centers
N · 6 cities
O · 8 cities
P · 14 cities
R · 14 cities
S · 24 cities
- Safford1 center
- Salem1 center
- Sand Rock2 centers
- Saraland2 centers
- Satsuma1 center
- Sawyerville1 center
- Scottsboro4 centers
- Selma10 centers
- Semmes4 centers
- Sheffield5 centers
- Shorter1 center
- Slocomb3 centers
- Smiths Station4 centers
- Somerville1 center
- Sommerville1 center
- Spanish Fort5 centers
- Steele1 center
- Stockton1 center
- Sulligent1 center
- Sumiton2 centers
- Summerdale1 center
- Sweetwater1 center
- Sylacauga8 centers
- Sylvania2 centers
T · 16 cities
V · 6 cities
W · 9 cities
License types in Alabama
Alabama’s licensing records use these categories. Each listing shows which one applies.
Day Care Center
1,388 listingsFamily Child Care Home
255 listingsGroup Child Care Home
198 listings
How to check a daycare license in Alabama
Every licensed center in Alabama has a public record with Alabama Department of Human Resources, Child Care Services Division. Here is how to read it.
Search the state’s site
Open Day Care Directory (opens in a new tab) and look the center up by name and city. Confirm the license type and that its status is active.
Read the inspection information
Open the center’s record and read whatever inspection or compliance information the state posts for it.
Compare with Clear Day’s center page
Our page shows the license type and capacity next to the hours and programs the center lists, so you can weigh the state’s record beside what the center offers.
Open Day Care Directory (opens in a new tab)
Each Clear Day center page in Alabamalinks to that center’s state record when the state publishes one, so step 3 starts one click from step 1.
Alabama Quality STARS quality ratings
Alabama Quality STARS (opens in a new tab) is Alabama’s own quality rating program for child care. The level a center holds comes from the state.
This is the state’s rating, shown as the state’s. Clear Day does not rate or review centers.
1,773 of 1,841 Alabama centers have a Alabama Quality STARS rating
Share of 1,841 Alabama centers in the directory, by Alabama Quality STARS level.
- Level 1 76%1,408 centers
- Level 2 5%92 centers
- Level 3 4%67 centers
- Level 4 6%104 centers
- Level 5 5%102 centers
- No rating on file 4%68 centers
Paying for childcare in Alabama
These programs help Alabama families pay for care. Which one fits depends on income, your child’s age and where you live.
First Class Pre-K
Alabama pre-K. Administered by: Alabama Department of Early Childhood Education
Head Start and Early Head Start
Federal programs for families with low incomes, from pregnancy through age five.
Frequently asked questions about childcare in Alabama
Answers use the numbers on this page, as of October 1, 2026.
How many childcare centers are in Alabama?
Alabama has 1,841 childcare centers and homes in the state licensing records Clear Day reads, across 300 cities. Birmingham has the most, with 184, followed by Montgomery (159) and Mobile (136).
How do I check if a daycare is licensed in Alabama?
Look the center up in Day Care Directory, the state's public license lookup. Confirm the license is active, then read whatever inspection or compliance information the state posts for that center. Clear Day center pages link to the state's record for that center when the state publishes one.
Does Alabama help pay for childcare?
Yes. Alabama's child care subsidy program is Child Care Subsidy Program. Public pre-K is a separate option: First Class Pre-K.
What is Alabama Quality STARS?
Alabama Quality STARS is Alabama's quality rating program for child care. 1,773 of 1,841 centers in the Clear Day directory carry a rating. The ratings are the state's. Clear Day does not rate or review centers.
Where does this data come from?
Center records come from Alabama Department of Human Resources, Child Care Services Division public records. Every share on the page names the number of centers it is counted over, and the methodology page explains how.
When was this data last updated?
The state records on this page were last imported October 1, 2026. Each center page shows its own record date. See the methodology for details.
For center directors
Run a center in Alabama?
Your center is already listed here, built from state records. Claim it free and get a free enrollment website built from your listing.
Other state guides
Alabama is one of 35 states in the directory: 173,052 centers and homes across 13,878 cities. Each state has its own guide with its own rules, agency and license lookup.
- New York17,433 centers and homes
- Texas15,702 centers and homes
- California13,334 centers and homes
- Florida11,913 centers and homes
- Massachusetts9,440 centers and homes
- Ohio8,707 centers and homes
- Minnesota7,814 centers and homes
- Michigan7,700 centers and homes
- Pennsylvania7,670 centers and homes
- Georgia6,970 centers and homes
- Maryland6,595 centers and homes
- North Carolina5,084 centers and homes
- Wisconsin4,687 centers and homes
- Colorado4,602 centers and homes
- New Jersey4,083 centers and homes
- Connecticut3,983 centers and homes
- Virginia3,569 centers and homes
- Iowa3,203 centers and homes
- Nebraska2,652 centers and homes
- Oklahoma2,636 centers and homes
- Missouri2,619 centers and homes
- Washington2,581 centers and homes
- Arizona2,536 centers and homes
- Tennessee2,303 centers and homes
- South Carolina2,300 centers and homes
- Idaho2,149 centers and homes
- Kentucky2,001 centers and homes
- Utah1,793 centers and homes
- Delaware1,260 centers and homes
- North Dakota1,088 centers and homes
- Vermont1,048 centers and homes
- South Dakota714 centers and homes
- Nevada590 centers and homes
- District of Columbia452 centers and homes
- All 35 states173,052 centers and homes
Where this data comes from
Center records come from Alabama Department of Human Resources, Child Care Services Division public records. Every percentage on this page names the number of Alabama centers it is counted over. This page is a guide, not legal advice. Clear Day does not rate, rank or review centers.
- Last updated
- October 1, 2026
This information is sourced from public records and may be incomplete or out of date. For the most current and accurate details, please verify directly with Alabama Department of Human Resources, Child Care Services Division or contact the center directly. Clear Day does not rate, rank or endorse any center.
Data updated Oct 1, 2026 · Source: Alabama Department of Human Resources, Child Care Services Division public records · Alabama license lookup (opens in a new tab) · How we compile this →