How many licensed daycares are in Charleston?

There are 95 licensed child care providers in Charleston.

What percentage of Charleston daycares have high quality ratings?

6% of Charleston daycares hold 4 or 5 stars on Childery's composite rating, compared to 6% statewide in South Carolina.

What types of childcare are available in Charleston?

86 center-based, 9 home-based providers operate in Charleston.

How do Charleston daycares score on teaching quality compared to the rest of South Carolina?

Charleston daycares average 3.0 out of 5 stars on Childery's Process score (teaching quality, QRIS ratings, and accreditations), compared to a South Carolina statewide average of 2.9.

Is there financial help for childcare in South Carolina?

South Carolina offers childcare subsidies and assistance programs for income-eligible families. See income limits, waitlist status, and how to apply.

Childery

Some of the Best Daycares in Charleston, SC

Of Charleston's 95 daycares, 6 (6%) hold a 4 or 5 star rating from Childery, matching South Carolina's statewide rate of 6%. Locally, providers average 3.0 stars on Process inputs (state QRIS, NAEYC and other accreditation, federal Head Start CLASS scores) and 2.0 stars on Structural inputs (state regulatory baseline plus provider-level licensing data), compared with South Carolina averages of 2.9 on Process and 2.0 on Structural.

The local market includes 86 centers, 1 group child care home, and 8 family child care homes, a lower home-based share than South Carolina's average of 29%.

Listed alphabetically below are some of the highest-rated providers in Charleston. Childery ranks providers using publicly auditable inputs: state QRIS scores, NAEYC-aligned ratios and group sizes, and federal CCDBG training coverage. See the South Carolina methodology page for the full breakdown.

Daycares

4 or 5 Stars

Rating Distribution in Charleston

0(0%)

6(6%)

15(16%)

74(78%)

0(0%)

Mean rating across all displayed daycares in Charleston: 2.3 (Sample of 95).

Process rating across all displayed daycares in Charleston: 3.0 (Sample of 31).

Structural rating across all displayed daycares in Charleston: 2.0 (Sample of 95).

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Some of the Best Daycares in Charleston

Charles Webb Center

Charleston, SC

★★★★★ 4 Stars

Crescent Child Development Center

Charleston, SC

★★★★★ 4 Stars

Daniel Island Academy

Roper Learning Center

Charleston, SC

★★★★★ 4 Stars

West Ashley Head Start

First African Evangelical Church Day Care

Charleston, SC

★★★★★ 3 Stars

Harbor View Elementary Kaleidoscope Afterschool Program

Charleston, SC

★★★★★ 3 Stars

James Island Elem AfterSchool Kaleidoscope Program

Frequently Asked Questions

How many licensed daycares are in Charleston?: There are 95 licensed child care providers in Charleston.
What percentage of Charleston daycares have high quality ratings?: 6% of Charleston daycares hold 4 or 5 stars on Childery's composite rating, compared to 6% statewide in South Carolina.
What types of childcare are available in Charleston?: 86 center-based, 9 home-based providers operate in Charleston.
How do Charleston daycares score on teaching quality compared to the rest of South Carolina?: Charleston daycares average 3.0 out of 5 stars on Childery's Process score (teaching quality, QRIS ratings, and accreditations), compared to a South Carolina statewide average of 2.9.
Is there financial help for childcare in South Carolina?: South Carolina offers childcare subsidies and assistance programs for income-eligible families. See income limits, waitlist status, and how to apply.Childcare subsidies in South Carolina