Anaheim / North Orange County
CDSS returns 70 licensed child care center records for Anaheim, but most are Anaheim Elementary School District, Head Start and church sites, so the privately run centers in commercial space are a much shorter list. Those sit on Harbor Boulevard north of downtown (1239 and 331 N. Harbor), Lincoln Avenue, State College Boulevard, La Palma Avenue, and in Anaheim Hills, where Tutor Time operates at Anaheim Hills Festival and Anaheim Hills Montessori is at 6274 Santa Ana Canyon Road. Tutoring is the easier entitlement here because Anaheim permits small tutoring facilities by right in every commercial zone. We did not find a licensed child care or education operator to confirm in the resort area centers (GardenWalk, Downtown Disney, the Harbor Boulevard resort corridor).
Population
344,521
Median HHI
$95,227
Median age
36.2
Homeownership
46.2%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Primary retail corridors
Harbor Boulevard · Lincoln Avenue · Euclid Street · Katella Avenue · Ball Road · State College Boulevard · Imperial Highway
Specific shopping centers in Anaheim that already carry credible co-tenancy for this use. Listed in approximate order of fit.
8020 East Santa Ana Canyon Road
Anchors / key tenants: Target, Nordstrom Rack, Hobby Lobby, 24 Hour Fitness, ULTA
Anaheim Hills’ affluent suburban center — different trade area than the rest of Anaheim. Target, Nordstrom Rack and Hobby Lobby anchor the center, with casual dining, fitness, and family-service retail. The former Edwards theater closed in 2022 and that part of the site is approved for apartments.
Existing operators are the most honest comp for whether a use can support Anaheim rents. These are publicly visible daycare and education space businesses currently trading in the market.
Tutor Time of Anaheim Hills
350 S. Festival Drive, Anaheim Hills, CA 92808
Licensed day care center, capacity 113, ages 2 through 5 on the CDSS record. Tutor Time's own page lists the school as serving 6 weeks to 12 years. It appears on the Anaheim Hills Festival store directory, so it is a working example of full day child care inside a major Anaheim shopping center.
Childtime Children's Center
1000 S. State College Boulevard, Anaheim, CA 92806
Licensed day care center, capacity 73. The CDSS record shows Monday through Sunday hours, 6:30am to 9:00pm, which is unusual and worth noting for operators planning extended hours. On State College Boulevard.
Montessori of Anaheim
1401 S. Anaheim Boulevard, Suite 105, Anaheim, CA 92805
Licensed day care center, capacity 89, license effective October 2023. It is a suite address, and the CDSS record notes a playground waiver in place, so it is a recent example of a center licensed in a multi-tenant building.
The Yellow Brick Preschool & Child Care Center
5475 E. La Palma Avenue, Suite 102, Anaheim, CA 92807
Licensed day care center, capacity 83, CDSS status 'Licensed/Pending Increase', meaning a capacity increase was on file as of 2026-09-18. A suite address in east Anaheim.
Shining Star Montessori Preschool
1239 N. Harbor Boulevard, Anaheim, CA 92801
Licensed day care center, capacity 60 including a toddler option for 7 children. On Harbor Boulevard north of downtown.
Miss Muffet's Playhouse
2229 E. Lincoln Avenue, Anaheim, CA 92806
Licensed day care center, capacity 35, licensed since 1995. A small independent on Lincoln Avenue.
Anaheim KinderCare
2515 E. South Street, Anaheim, CA 92806
Licensed day care center, preschool capacity 48 per CDSS. KinderCare's page lists the center as serving 6 weeks to 12 years.
01
Anaheim Municipal Code 18.08.030, Table 8-A, requires a conditional use permit for Day Care Centers in the C-NC, C-R and C-G zones. In the O-L and O-H office zones the use is permitted without a CUP only when it is integrated in a multi-tenant office building as an accessory use serving office tenants. The table also requires compliance with 18.40.040 on uses next to residential zones.
02
Educational Institutions-Tutoring is permitted by right in all five commercial zones, but 18.36.040 defines it as tutoring for up to ten children at a time with no classrooms or large group sessions. A larger learning center may be classed as Educational Institutions-General, which needs a CUP in C-R, C-G, O-L and O-H and is prohibited in C-NC, so get the classification from planning staff in writing.
03
Parking under Table 42-A (18.42.040): Day Care Centers need 1 space per employee, plus 1 space per 10 children, plus 1 loading space. Tutoring and dance or fitness studios need 4 spaces per 1,000 sq ft. For a 113 child center like Tutor Time that is 12 spaces for children plus one per employee and the loading space.
04
Anaheim Hills Festival is not under Table 8-A. It is governed by Festival Specific Plan No. 90-1 (Chapter 18.108), where Day Care Centers need a CUP in all development areas and tutoring is permitted in every development area except DA-4. Other parts of the city sit under their own specific plans too (Anaheim Resort, Beach Boulevard, Anaheim Canyon), so check which chapter governs the parcel first.
05
State licensing sets the footprint: 35 sq ft of indoor activity space per child (22 CCR 101238.3) and 75 sq ft of outdoor space per child inside a fence at least 4 feet high with shade (22 CCR 101238.2). An 89 child license like Montessori of Anaheim works out to 3,115 sq ft indoors and 6,675 sq ft outdoors. That center's CDSS record shows a playground waiver, so ask CDSS licensing what it will accept before you commit to a site without a yard.
06
A fire clearance is required for every child care center (22 CCR 101171). Bring the city's fire prevention staff into the conversation about exiting and occupancy while you are still in the LOI stage.
Zoning, licensing, and demographic figures on this page come from the public records below. Codes and licenses change, so confirm with the city and the licensing agency before you sign.