# ChildcareCenter.us Daycare & Childcare Directory Scraper (`crawlerbros/childcarecenter-us-scraper`) Actor Scrape ChildcareCenter.us, the largest US directory of licensed childcare centers and home daycares. Search by ZIP code, city, state, or county to extract names, addresses, phone numbers, license numbers, capacity, age ranges, rates, languages spoken, ratings, reviews, and hours. - **URL**: https://apify.com/crawlerbros/childcarecenter-us-scraper.md - **Developed by:** [Crawler Bros](https://apify.com/crawlerbros) (community) - **Categories:** Agents, Automation, Lead generation - **Stats:** 2 total users, 1 monthly users, 100.0% runs succeeded, 0 bookmarks - **User rating**: No ratings yet ## Pricing from $3.00 / 1,000 results This Actor is paid per event and usage. You are charged both the fixed price for specific events and for Apify platform usage. Since this Actor supports Apify Store discounts, the price gets lower the higher subscription plan you have. Learn more: https://docs.apify.com/platform/actors/running/actors-in-store#pay-per-event ## What's an Apify Actor? Actors are a software tools running on the Apify platform, for all kinds of web data extraction and automation use cases. In Batch mode, an Actor accepts a well-defined JSON input, performs an action which can take anything from a few seconds to a few hours, and optionally produces a well-defined JSON output, datasets with results, or files in key-value store. In Standby mode, an Actor provides a web server which can be used as a website, API, or an MCP server. Actors are written with capital "A". ## How to integrate an Actor? If asked about integration, you help developers integrate Actors into their projects. You adapt to their stack and deliver integrations that are safe, well-documented, and production-ready. The best way to integrate Actors is as follows. In JavaScript/TypeScript projects, use official [JavaScript/TypeScript client](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js.md): ```bash npm install apify-client ``` In Python projects, use official [Python client library](https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python.md): ```bash pip install apify-client ``` In shell scripts, use [Apify CLI](https://docs.apify.com/cli/docs.md): ````bash # MacOS / Linux curl -fsSL https://apify.com/install-cli.sh | bash # Windows irm https://apify.com/install-cli.ps1 | iex ```bash In AI frameworks, you might use the [Apify MCP server](https://docs.apify.com/platform/integrations/mcp.md). If your project is in a different language, use the [REST API](https://docs.apify.com/api/v2.md). For usage examples, see the [API](#api) section below. For more details, see Apify documentation as [Markdown index](https://docs.apify.com/llms.txt) and [Markdown full-text](https://docs.apify.com/llms-full.txt). # README ## ChildcareCenter.us Daycare & Childcare Directory Scraper Scrape [ChildcareCenter.us](https://childcarecenter.us) - the US directory of 137,000+ licensed childcare centers and preschools, plus 114,000+ home / family day care providers. Search by ZIP code, city + state, browse an entire state or county, and get names, full addresses, phone numbers, websites, license numbers, capacity, age range, rate ranges, languages spoken, ratings, individual reviews, operating hours, and more. No login, no API key, and no cookies required. ### What this actor does - **Five modes:** search by ZIP code, search by city + state, browse an entire state, browse an entire county, or look up specific providers by URL - **Two provider types:** licensed childcare centers / preschools, and home / family day care providers - **Rich per-provider detail:** address, phone, website, license number, capacity, age range, rate range, languages supported, accreditations, subsidized-program participation, type of care, schools served, transportation, hours of operation, star rating, individual reviews, photos, and licensing details (issue/expiration dates, licensor, inspection history) - **Filters:** minimum rating, minimum capacity, minimum review count, subsidized-program-only, language spoken - **Nationwide coverage:** all 50 US states + Washington, D.C., down to the county level - **Empty fields are always omitted** - every field returned genuinely exists on the source page ### Output per provider - `providerId`, `name`, `facilityType`, `centerType` (`center` or `home`) - `streetAddress`, `city`, `state`, `zip`, `phone`, `website` - `licenseNumber`, `capacity`, `ageRange`, `accreditations`, `rateRange`, `languagesSupported[]` - `subsidizedProgram` (boolean), `typeOfCare[]`, `schoolsServed`, `transportation` - `initialLicenseDate`, `currentLicenseDate`, `licenseExpirationDate`, `licensor` - `districtOffice`, `districtOfficePhone` - `operationHours` - object keyed by day of week - `ratingValue` (0-5), `reviewCount` - `reviews[]` - `{ author, rating, date, text, reviewerRelationship, helpfulVotes, helpfulVotesTotal }` per published review - `description`, `additionalInfo` - `photos[]`, `logoUrl` - `inspections[]` - `{ date, hasViolation }` per licensing inspection on file - `sourceUrl`, `recordType`, `scrapedAt` Only fields the source page actually publishes are included - a provider with no reviews yet simply has no `ratingValue`/`reviewCount`/`reviews` field, rather than a placeholder value. Likewise, `rateRange`, `languagesSupported`, `licensor`, and `licenseExpirationDate` are only published by some providers/states, so they appear only when the source page actually has them. ### Input | Field | Type | Default | Description | |---|---|---|---| | `mode` | string | `byZip` | `byZip` / `byCityState` / `byState` / `byCounty` / `byProviderUrl` | | `zip` | string | `33781` | 5-digit US ZIP code (mode=byZip) | | `city` | string | - | City name, used with `state` (mode=byCityState) | | `county` | string | - | US county name, used with `state` (mode=byCounty), e.g. `Suffolk` or `Van Zandt` | | `state` | string | `FL` | US state, 2-letter code (mode=byCityState, byState, or byCounty) | | `centerType` | string | `center` | `center` (childcare center / preschool) or `home` (home daycare / family child care) | | `providerUrls` | array | - | Provider detail URLs or slugs (mode=byProviderUrl) | | `minRating` | int | - | Drop providers with a review rating below this value (0-5) | | `minCapacity` | int | - | Drop providers with a listed capacity below this number of children | | `subsidizedOnly` | bool | `false` | Only emit providers enrolled in a subsidized child care program | | `minReviewCount` | int | - | Drop providers with fewer published reviews than this | | `language` | string | - | Only emit providers whose published languages include this (e.g. `Spanish`) | | `maxItems` | int | `50` | Hard cap on emitted records (1-1000) | #### Example: search by ZIP code ```json { "mode": "byZip", "zip": "33781", "centerType": "center", "maxItems": 50 } ```` #### Example: search home daycare by city + state ```json { "mode": "byCityState", "city": "Orlando", "state": "FL", "centerType": "home", "maxItems": 50 } ``` #### Example: browse an entire state, subsidized centers with capacity 20+ ```json { "mode": "byState", "state": "TX", "centerType": "center", "minCapacity": 20, "subsidizedOnly": true, "maxItems": 200 } ``` #### Example: browse an entire county, Spanish-speaking providers only ```json { "mode": "byCounty", "county": "Suffolk", "state": "NY", "centerType": "center", "language": "Spanish", "maxItems": 100 } ``` #### Example: look up specific providers by URL ```json { "mode": "byProviderUrl", "providerUrls": [ "https://childcarecenter.us/provider_detail/first_baptist_preschool_center_pinellas_park_fl" ] } ``` ### Use cases - **Parent-facing apps** - power a childcare-search or comparison tool with structured, up-to-date provider data - **Market research** - analyze childcare capacity, pricing signals, and subsidized-program availability by city or state - **Lead generation** - build outreach lists of licensed childcare centers or home daycare providers by region - **Compliance & licensing analysis** - track license numbers, licensing-inspection history, and accreditation status - **Real estate & demographic analysis** - correlate childcare availability with neighborhood data ### FAQ **Do I need an account, cookies, or API key?** No. ChildcareCenter.us is a public directory with no login wall. This actor works out of the box with no configuration beyond the input fields. **What's the difference between `center` and `home` provider types?** `center` covers licensed childcare centers, preschools, and child development centers. `home` covers home-based / family child care and group home day care providers. Each is searched separately via the `centerType` input. **Does this actor cover nanny or in-home sitter services?** No. Nanny and babysitter listings are hosted on a separate site (nanny.us) operated by the same company but with a different search structure and provider database - out of scope for this actor, which targets childcarecenter.us specifically. **Why do some providers have no `ratingValue` or `reviewCount`?** Those fields are only included when the provider has at least one published review. A provider with no reviews yet simply omits both fields rather than showing a `0` or placeholder rating. **Why do some license dates look unusual?** ChildcareCenter.us occasionally renders a 2-digit license year with the wrong century (e.g. a provider licensed in 1969 shows "11/15/69" as "2069-11-15" in their own page). Since a license issue date in the future is impossible, the actor automatically corrects the century (subtracting 100 years) so `initialLicenseDate` always reflects a real, plausible date - every digit is exactly what the source published, only the century is corrected. **How many results does `byState` mode return?** `byState` walks every city listed for that state (highest-listing-count cities first) until `maxItems` is reached or the state is exhausted. Large states like California or Texas have thousands of providers; set `maxItems` accordingly. **How does `byCounty` mode work?** It uses ChildcareCenter.us's own county hub pages (e.g. `childcarecenter.us/county/suffolk_ny`), which list the county's top providers directly plus every city within that county. `county` is matched against the site's own slug (lowercase, spaces become underscores, a trailing "County" is stripped, possessive apostrophes are dropped, and "St."/"Ft."/"Mt." are expanded to "Saint"/"Fort"/"Mount" to match the source's naming, e.g. `St. Mary's` -> `saint_marys`) - standard US county names resolve correctly, including ones like `Prince George's` or `St. Lucie`. If a county name doesn't resolve, the run emits a status message rather than fabricating results. **Is pricing / tuition information available?** Sometimes. Some providers - mostly home / family day care listings - publish a `rateRange` (e.g. "$110 to $160 per week"). Most providers do not publish pricing, so `rateRange` is included only on the records where the source page actually has it; there is no site-wide guarantee of coverage. **Are individual reviews available, or just the star rating?** Both. `ratingValue`/`reviewCount` are the aggregate figures shown at the top of the page; `reviews[]` contains each individual published review with its author name, 1-5 star rating, date, review text, an optional "I have used this provider for..." relationship tag, and helpful-vote counts where the site shows them. **How fresh is the data?** Provider listings, ratings, and licensing-inspection records reflect whatever is currently published on ChildcareCenter.us at the time the actor runs. # Actor input Schema ## `mode` (type: `string`): What to fetch. ## `zip` (type: `string`): 5-digit US ZIP code to search near. ## `city` (type: `string`): City name to search, used together with `state`. ## `county` (type: `string`): US county name to browse, used together with `state` (e.g. `Suffolk`, `Van Zandt`). Do not include the word "County". ## `state` (type: `string`): US state to search or browse. ## `centerType` (type: `string`): Childcare center / preschool facility, or a home / family day care provider. (mode=byZip, byCityState, byState, byCounty) ## `providerUrls` (type: `array`): Full ChildcareCenter.us provider URLs (e.g. https://childcarecenter.us/provider\_detail/first\_baptist\_preschool\_center\_pinellas\_park\_fl) or bare provider slugs. ## `minRating` (type: `integer`): Drop providers with a review rating below this value (0-5). Providers with no reviews pass through. ## `minCapacity` (type: `integer`): Drop providers with a listed capacity below this number of children. Providers with no listed capacity pass through. ## `subsidizedOnly` (type: `boolean`): Only emit providers that participate in a subsidized child care program. ## `minReviewCount` (type: `integer`): Drop providers with fewer published reviews than this. Providers with no review-count data pass through. ## `language` (type: `string`): Only emit providers whose published "Languages Supported" list contains this language (e.g. `Spanish`). Case-insensitive substring match. Providers with no published language data pass through. ## `maxItems` (type: `integer`): Hard cap on emitted records. ## Actor input object example ```json { "mode": "byZip", "zip": "33781", "state": "FL", "centerType": "center", "providerUrls": [], "subsidizedOnly": false, "maxItems": 50 } ``` # Actor output Schema ## `providers` (type: `string`): Dataset containing all scraped childcare providers. Records with `recordType: "error"` indicate invalid or unresolvable input (e.g. a malformed ZIP code) instead of a provider. # API You can run this Actor programmatically using our API. Below are code examples in JavaScript, Python, and CLI, as well as the OpenAPI specification and MCP server setup. ## JavaScript example ```javascript import { ApifyClient } from 'apify-client'; // Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token // Replace the '' with your token const client = new ApifyClient({ token: '', }); // Prepare Actor input const input = { "mode": "byZip", "zip": "33781", "state": "FL", "centerType": "center", "providerUrls": [], "subsidizedOnly": false, "maxItems": 50 }; // Run the Actor and wait for it to finish const run = await client.actor("crawlerbros/childcarecenter-us-scraper").call(input); // Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if any) console.log('Results from dataset'); console.log(`💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/${run.defaultDatasetId}`); const { items } = await client.dataset(run.defaultDatasetId).listItems(); items.forEach((item) => { console.dir(item); }); // 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/js/docs ``` ## Python example ```python from apify_client import ApifyClient # Initialize the ApifyClient with your Apify API token # Replace '' with your token. client = ApifyClient("") # Prepare the Actor input run_input = { "mode": "byZip", "zip": "33781", "state": "FL", "centerType": "center", "providerUrls": [], "subsidizedOnly": False, "maxItems": 50, } # Run the Actor and wait for it to finish run = client.actor("crawlerbros/childcarecenter-us-scraper").call(run_input=run_input) # Fetch and print Actor results from the run's dataset (if there are any) print("💾 Check your data here: https://console.apify.com/storage/datasets/" + run["defaultDatasetId"]) for item in client.dataset(run["defaultDatasetId"]).iterate_items(): print(item) # 📚 Want to learn more 📖? Go to → https://docs.apify.com/api/client/python/docs/quick-start ``` ## CLI example ```bash echo '{ "mode": "byZip", "zip": "33781", "state": "FL", "centerType": "center", "providerUrls": [], "subsidizedOnly": false, "maxItems": 50 }' | apify call crawlerbros/childcarecenter-us-scraper --silent --output-dataset ``` ## MCP server setup ```json { "mcpServers": { "apify": { "command": "npx", "args": [ "mcp-remote", "https://mcp.apify.com/?tools=crawlerbros/childcarecenter-us-scraper", "--header", "Authorization: Bearer " ] } } } ``` ## OpenAPI specification ```json { "openapi": "3.0.1", "info": { "title": "ChildcareCenter.us Daycare & Childcare Directory Scraper", "description": "Scrape ChildcareCenter.us, the largest US directory of licensed childcare centers and home daycares. Search by ZIP code, city, state, or county to extract names, addresses, phone numbers, license numbers, capacity, age ranges, rates, languages spoken, ratings, reviews, and hours.", "version": "1.0", "x-build-id": "UgvU5nrphQKQBpvqE" }, "servers": [ { "url": "https://api.apify.com/v2" } ], "paths": { "/acts/crawlerbros~childcarecenter-us-scraper/run-sync-get-dataset-items": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-get-dataset-items-crawlerbros-childcarecenter-us-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for its completion, and returns Actor's dataset items in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~childcarecenter-us-scraper/runs": { "post": { "operationId": "runs-sync-crawlerbros-childcarecenter-us-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor and returns information about the initiated run in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK", "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/runsResponseSchema" } } } } } } }, "/acts/crawlerbros~childcarecenter-us-scraper/run-sync": { "post": { "operationId": "run-sync-crawlerbros-childcarecenter-us-scraper", "x-openai-isConsequential": false, "summary": "Executes an Actor, waits for completion, and returns the OUTPUT from Key-value store in response.", "tags": [ "Run Actor" ], "requestBody": { "required": true, "content": { "application/json": { "schema": { "$ref": "#/components/schemas/inputSchema" } } } }, "parameters": [ { "name": "token", "in": "query", "required": true, "schema": { "type": "string" }, "description": "Enter your Apify token here" } ], "responses": { "200": { "description": "OK" } } } } }, "components": { "schemas": { "inputSchema": { "type": "object", "required": [ "mode" ], "properties": { "mode": { "title": "Mode", "enum": [ "byZip", "byCityState", "byState", "byCounty", "byProviderUrl" ], "type": "string", "description": "What to fetch.", "default": "byZip" }, "zip": { "title": "ZIP code (mode=byZip)", "type": "string", "description": "5-digit US ZIP code to search near.", "default": "33781" }, "city": { "title": "City (mode=byCityState)", "type": "string", "description": "City name to search, used together with `state`." }, "county": { "title": "County (mode=byCounty)", "type": "string", "description": "US county name to browse, used together with `state` (e.g. `Suffolk`, `Van Zandt`). Do not include the word \"County\"." }, "state": { "title": "State (mode=byCityState, byState, or byCounty)", "enum": [ "", "AL", "AK", "AZ", "AR", "CA", "CO", "CT", "DE", "DC", "FL", "GA", "HI", "ID", "IL", "IN", "IA", "KS", "KY", "LA", "ME", "MD", "MA", "MI", "MN", "MS", "MO", "MT", "NE", "NV", "NH", "NJ", "NM", "NY", "NC", "ND", "OH", "OK", "OR", "PA", "RI", "SC", "SD", "TN", "TX", "UT", "VT", "VA", "WA", "WV", "WI", "WY" ], "type": "string", "description": "US state to search or browse.", "default": "" }, "centerType": { "title": "Provider type", "enum": [ "center", "home" ], "type": "string", "description": "Childcare center / preschool facility, or a home / family day care provider. (mode=byZip, byCityState, byState, byCounty)", "default": "center" }, "providerUrls": { "title": "Provider URLs (mode=byProviderUrl)", "type": "array", "description": "Full ChildcareCenter.us provider URLs (e.g. https://childcarecenter.us/provider_detail/first_baptist_preschool_center_pinellas_park_fl) or bare provider slugs.", "default": [], "items": { "type": "string" } }, "minRating": { "title": "Min rating", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 5, "type": "integer", "description": "Drop providers with a review rating below this value (0-5). Providers with no reviews pass through." }, "minCapacity": { "title": "Min capacity", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 100000, "type": "integer", "description": "Drop providers with a listed capacity below this number of children. Providers with no listed capacity pass through." }, "subsidizedOnly": { "title": "Subsidized program only", "type": "boolean", "description": "Only emit providers that participate in a subsidized child care program.", "default": false }, "minReviewCount": { "title": "Min review count", "minimum": 0, "maximum": 100000, "type": "integer", "description": "Drop providers with fewer published reviews than this. Providers with no review-count data pass through." }, "language": { "title": "Language spoken", "type": "string", "description": "Only emit providers whose published \"Languages Supported\" list contains this language (e.g. `Spanish`). Case-insensitive substring match. Providers with no published language data pass through." }, "maxItems": { "title": "Max items", "minimum": 1, "maximum": 1000, "type": "integer", "description": "Hard cap on emitted records.", "default": 50 } } }, "runsResponseSchema": { "type": "object", "properties": { "data": { "type": "object", "properties": { "id": { "type": "string" }, "actId": { "type": "string" }, "userId": { "type": "string" }, "startedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "finishedAt": { "type": "string", "format": "date-time", "example": "2025-01-08T00:00:00.000Z" }, "status": { "type": "string", "example": "READY" }, "meta": { "type": "object", "properties": { "origin": { "type": "string", "example": "API" }, "userAgent": { "type": "string" } } }, "stats": { "type": "object", "properties": { "inputBodyLen": { "type": "integer", "example": 2000 }, "rebootCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "restartCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "resurrectCount": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "computeUnits": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "options": { "type": "object", "properties": { "build": { "type": "string", "example": "latest" }, "timeoutSecs": { "type": "integer", "example": 300 }, "memoryMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 1024 }, "diskMbytes": { "type": "integer", "example": 2048 } } }, "buildId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultKeyValueStoreId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultDatasetId": { "type": "string" }, "defaultRequestQueueId": { "type": "string" }, "buildNumber": { "type": "string", "example": "1.0.0" }, "containerUrl": { "type": "string" }, "usage": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 1 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } }, "usageTotalUsd": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "usageUsd": { "type": "object", "properties": { "ACTOR_COMPUTE_UNITS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATASET_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_WRITES": { "type": "number", "example": 0.00005 }, "KEY_VALUE_STORE_LISTS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_READS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "REQUEST_QUEUE_WRITES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_INTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "DATA_TRANSFER_EXTERNAL_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_RESIDENTIAL_TRANSFER_GBYTES": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 }, "PROXY_SERPS": { "type": "integer", "example": 0 } } } } } } } } } } ```