Find a program / Head Start centers / California
California
Head Start and Early Head Start centers in California
1,658 open Head Start and Early Head Start locations in 419 California cities and towns, from the federal Office of Head Start.
Cities with the most centers
Los Angeles128Sacramento75Stockton58San Diego42San Francisco33Pomona26La Puente25Long Beach23Modesto22Oakland22San Jose22Bakersfield18El Monte17Fresno17Watsonville17Compton16Baldwin Park14Madera14Oxnard14Palmdale13Inglewood12Richmond12Escondido11National City11Salinas10Chula Vista9Eureka9Fairfield9Ontario9Santa Maria9
All cities A–Z
- Adelanto 1
- Alameda 5
- Alhambra 1
- Altadena 1
- Alturas 2
- American Canyon 1
- Anaheim 4
- Anderson 2
- Angels Camp 1
- Antelope 2
- Antioch 6
- Apple Valley 1
- Aptos 2
- Arbuckle 3
- Arcata 3
- Arleta 2
- Arroyo Grande 1
- Artesia 2
- Arvin 2
- Atascadero 1
- Atwater 4
- Auburn 1
- Avenal 2
- Azusa 3
- Bakersfield 18
- Baldwin Park 14
- Banning 1
- Barstow 1
- Bay Point 3
- Beaumont 2
- Bell Gardens 7
- Berkeley 4
- Bishop 2
- Bloomington 1
- Boulevard 1
- Brawley 3
- Brea 1
- Brentwood 3
- Buellton 1
- Buena Park 4
- Burbank 1
- Burney 1
- Calexico 3
- California City 1
- Camarillo 1
- Cambria 1
- Cameron Park 1
- Camino 1
- Canoga Park 3
- Carlsbad 2
- Carmichael 5
- Carpinteria 2
- Caruthers 1
- Castroville 1
- Cathedral City 3
- Ceres 3
- Cerritos 1
- Chatsworth 1
- Cherryland 1
- Chico 4
- Chino 1
- Chowchilla 2
- Chualar 1
- Chula Vista 9
- Citrus Heights 5
- Clearlake 2
- Cloverdale 1
- Clovis 2
- Coachella 7
- Colton 2
- Colusa 3
- Commerce 2
- Compton 16
- Concord 4
- Corcoran 1
- Corning 5
- Corona 3
- Costa Mesa 1
- Cottonwood 1
- Covelo 1
- Covina 3
- Crescent City 3
- Crestline 1
- Cudahy 2
- Culver City 3
- Cutler 1
- Cuyama 1
- Daly City 2
- Davis 1
- Delano 3
- Delhi 2
- Desert Hot Springs 5
- Dinuba 3
- Dos Palos 1
- Downey 3
- Earlimart 2
- East Palo Alto 2
- East Rancho Dominguez 1
- El Cajon 5
- El Centro 5
- El Dorado 1
- El Monte 17
- El Nido 1
- Elk Grove 7
- Emeryville 1
- Empire 2
- Encinitas 1
- Escalon 2
- Escondido 11
- Esparto 1
- Eureka 9
- Fair Oaks 1
- Fairfield 9
- Fallbrook 2
- Farmersville 1
- Fillmore 2
- Firebaugh 1
- Five Points 1
- Fontana 2
- Foresthill 1
- Fortuna 3
- Freedom 2
- French Camp 2
- Fresno 17
- Fullerton 3
- Galt 2
- Garden Grove 2
- Gardena 4
- Georgetown 1
- Gilroy 4
- Glendale 5
- Glendora 1
- Goleta 1
- Gonzales 2
- Granada Hills 1
- Grass Valley 3
- Greenfield 3
- Gridley 2
- Guadalupe 3
- Gustine 1
- Hacienda Heights 2
- Half Moon Bay 3
- Hamilton City 2
- Hanford 7
- Happy Camp 1
- Harbor City 4
- Havasu Lake 1
- Hawaiian Gardens 1
- Hawthorne 8
- Hayward 5
- Heber 1
- Hemet 4
- Hesperia 2
- Highland 1
- Hilmar 2
- Hollister 2
- Hoopa 2
- Huntington Beach 1
- Huntington Park 2
- Huron 1
- Indio 5
- Inglewood 12
- Ione 1
- Ivanhoe 1
- Jackson 3
- Jamestown 2
- Jurupa Valley 6
- Kelseyville 1
- Kerman 2
- King City 4
- Kings Beach 1
- Klamath 1
- La Mesa 1
- La Mirada 1
- La Puente 25
- La Quinta 1
- La Verne 2
- Lakeport 2
- Lakewood 2
- Lamont 3
- Lancaster 3
- Lathrop 3
- Lawndale 2
- Le Grand 1
- Lemoore 2
- Lincoln 2
- Linden 1
- Lindsay 1
- Live Oak 1
- Livermore 5
- Livingston 4
- Lodi 7
- Lomita 1
- Lompoc 5
- Long Beach 23
- Loomis 2
- Los Angeles 128
- Los Banos 4
- Lynwood 8
- Madera 14
- Manteca 4
- Marina 1
- Marysville 2
- Mather 2
- Maywood 3
- McArthur 1
- McKinleyville 1
- Mecca 2
- Mendota 2
- Menlo Park 5
- Merced 6
- Modesto 22
- Monrovia 2
- Montclair 1
- Montebello 4
- Monterey Park 5
- Moreno Valley 5
- Mount Shasta 1
- Murphys 1
- Murrieta 1
- Napa 6
- National City 11
- Needles 1
- Nevada City 2
- Newhall 2
- Newman 2
- Nipomo 4
- North Fork 1
- North Highlands 4
- North Hills 1
- North Hollywood 7
- Northridge 1
- Norwalk 8
- Novato 3
- Oakdale 2
- Oakhurst 1
- Oakland 22
- Oakley 2
- Oceano 1
- Oceanside 3
- Ojai 3
- Olivehurst 1
- Ontario 9
- Orange 2
- Orange Cove 2
- Orland 3
- Orleans 1
- Orosi 2
- Oroville 5
- Oxnard 14
- Pacoima 4
- Palm Desert 1
- Palm Springs 5
- Palmdale 13
- Paramount 2
- Parlier 2
- Pasadena 6
- Paso Robles 4
- Patterson 3
- Pauma Valley 1
- Perris 1
- Pico Rivera 5
- Pinedale 1
- Pittsburg 5
- Pixley 2
- Placentia 2
- Placerville 4
- Planada 5
- Pleasanton 1
- Point Arena 1
- Point Reyes Station 1
- Pollock Pines 1
- Pomona 26
- Port Hueneme 2
- Porterville 4
- Portola 1
- Poway 4
- Quincy 1
- Ramona 2
- Rancho Cordova 1
- Rancho Cucamonga 1
- Red Bluff 4
- Redding 7
- Redlands 2
- Redway 1
- Redwood City 1
- Reedley 2
- Rescue 1
- Reseda 2
- Rialto 4
- Richgrove 2
- Richmond 12
- Ridgecrest 1
- Rio Dell 1
- Rio Linda 1
- Ripon 1
- Riverbank 2
- Riverside 7
- Rodeo 3
- Rohnert Park 1
- Rosamond 1
- Rosemead 7
- Roseville 4
- Rowland Heights 5
- Royal Oaks 2
- Sacramento 75
- Salida 2
- Salinas 10
- San Andreas 3
- San Bernardino 8
- San Bruno 1
- San Diego 42
- San Dimas 1
- San Fernando 3
- San Francisco 33
- San Gabriel 4
- San Jacinto 3
- San Jose 22
- San Juan Capistrano 2
- San Luis Obispo 3
- San Marcos 3
- San Mateo 4
- San Pablo 1
- San Pedro 1
- San Rafael 6
- San Ysidro 2
- Sanger 2
- Santa Ana 6
- Santa Barbara 1
- Santa Clarita 1
- Santa Cruz 3
- Santa Fe Springs 2
- Santa Maria 9
- Santa Monica 1
- Santa Nella 1
- Santa Paula 2
- Santa Rosa 7
- Sausalito 1
- Seaside 1
- Selma 5
- Shafter 4
- Shasta Lake 1
- Shingle Springs 1
- Signal Hill 2
- Simi Valley 2
- Smith River 1
- Soledad 1
- Sonora 2
- Soquel 1
- Soulsbyville 1
- South El Monte 5
- South Gate 7
- South Lake Tahoe 2
- South San Francisco 4
- Spring Valley 4
- Stanton 1
- Stockton 58
- Strathmore 1
- Suisun City 1
- Sun Valley 1
- Sunland 1
- Susanville 4
- Sylmar 2
- Taft 2
- Tehachapi 1
- Tehama 1
- Terra Bella 1
- Thermal 5
- Thornton 1
- Thousand Palms 1
- Tipton 2
- Torrance 1
- Tracy 3
- Truckee 2
- Tujunga 1
- Tulare 3
- Tulelake 1
- Tuolumne 1
- Turlock 8
- Twentynine Palms 1
- Ukiah 5
- Upland 1
- Upper Lake 1
- Vacaville 3
- Vallejo 3
- Valley Center 1
- Valley Springs 2
- Van Nuys 5
- Venice 1
- Ventura 3
- Victorville 2
- Visalia 6
- Vista 2
- Walnut 2
- Walnut Grove 1
- Walnut Park 1
- Wasco 3
- Waterford 1
- Watsonville 17
- Weaverville 1
- Weed 1
- West Covina 7
- West Point 1
- West Sacramento 1
- Westley 1
- Whittier 7
- Williams 3
- Willits 1
- Willows 2
- Wilmington 2
- Windsor 1
- Winterhaven 1
- Woodlake 2
- Woodland 5
- Woodland Hills 1
- Yreka 4
- Yuba City 5
- Yucaipa 1
- Yucca Valley 1
Who can enroll
Head Start serves children ages 3 to 5 (ask the center about its birthday cutoff date). Early Head Start serves pregnant women, babies and toddlers under 3. Both are free for families who qualify.
Families usually qualify when household income is at or below the federal poverty guideline for their family size, or when the family gets public assistance such as TANF or SSI, the child is in foster care, or the family is experiencing homelessness. Programs may also enroll some children from families just above the guideline, and each program sets its own application steps and waitlist, so ask the center.
Official HHS poverty guidelines (current year) · Head Start's own center locator
More in California
Licensed child care and after-school programs in California · California child care rules · Youth nonprofits in California
Source: Head Start Service Location Dataset, U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Office of Head Start (CSV file), file dated November 8, 2026. The information is reported by each Head Start grant recipient and can be out of date, so call the center to confirm its address, hours and openings. Locations the program lists as closed are left out. Home-based locations show city and ZIP code only. A listing is not an endorsement.