Free childcare
Find your nearest Head Start
Head Start is free. It is federally funded early education and childcare for families who qualify, and there are 14,935 locations across the country holding 637,437 funded places. Enter a ZIP code — no email, no account, anywhere in the US.
Need a doctor rather than childcare? Low-cost clinics near you lists the federally funded centers that must see you whatever you can pay — open in the same way, and broadly the same families qualify.
Who Head Start is for
Income is the main test — broadly, families at or below the federal poverty line. But it is not the only route in: children in foster care, experiencing homelessness, or whose family receives public assistance qualify regardless of income, and children with disabilities have reserved places.
Early Head Start covers pregnancy to age three. Head Start Preschool covers three to five. Some programs run part-day, some full-day, and many include meals, health screening and help finding other services.
Places are limited and most programs keep a waitlist, so the funded-place count above is what a location is funded for — not what is free today. Call and ask to be put on the list; it costs nothing and lists move.
We do not decide eligibility and we are not affiliated with the program. Apply through the location directly, or the official federal locator.
Source: U.S. Office of Head Start service locations, covering 57 states and territories. ZIP positions from the Census ZCTA gazetteer. Locations recorded as closed are excluded. Listing is not endorsement — this is the federal list, sorted by distance. Texas licensing records and what paid care costs.