Brea / North Orange County
The licensed centers we could verify sit on or just off Birch Street and Imperial Highway on the east side of downtown: Childtime at 705 East Birch Street and CC's Learning Center at 300 East Imperial Highway. Tutoring shows up in multi-tenant suites on Lambert Road (Apex Academy at 1800 East Lambert Road). The state search listed only 11 Day Care Center licenses in Brea on September 18, 2026, and four of those are Brea Olinda Unified early learning centers on school sites, so there are few privately run centers in commercial space today.
Population
47,469
Median HHI
$131,129
Median age
39.7
Homeownership
59.7%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Primary retail corridors
Imperial Highway · Brea Boulevard · State College Boulevard · Birch Street · Lambert Road
Specific shopping centers in Brea that already carry credible co-tenancy for this use. Listed in approximate order of fit.
Brea Boulevard at Birch Street
Anchors / key tenants: walkable downtown dining and entertainment
Walkable, eclectic downtown shopping and dining district with entertainment options. Cultural and chef-driven concept fit; resident-and-visitor crossover.
Existing operators are the most honest comp for whether a use can support Brea rents. These are publicly visible daycare and education space businesses currently trading in the market.
Childtime Children's Center
705 East Birch Street, Brea, CA 92821
National brand (Childtime Childcare, Inc.), licensed since 1996. Preschool license for 107 children ages 2 to 6, with infant (52) and school-age (28) licenses at the same address in the May 2025 state file. On Birch Street about half a mile east of Brea Boulevard.
CC's Learning Center
300 East Imperial Highway, Brea, CA 92821
Licensed for 62 children (56 preschool plus 6 toddlers), with a separate 9-child infant license in the May 2025 state file. On Imperial Highway roughly 0.2 mile from the Brea Boulevard and Birch Street corner that anchors downtown.
Montessori of Brea
701 Mulberry Avenue, Brea, CA 92821
Single licensed child care center for 63 preschool children ages 2 to 6, first licensed in February 2025, so it is the most recent new license we found in the city.
Heights Christian Schools, Brea Preschool
200 South Associated Road, Brea, CA 92821
The largest preschool license we found in Brea at 148 children ages 2 to 6, plus a 15-child infant license in the May 2025 state file. A school campus rather than a retail suite.
Future Minds Montessori
408 South Flower Avenue, Brea, CA 92821
Licensed for 44 preschool children ages 2 to 6.
Apex Academy
1800 East Lambert Road #288, Brea, CA 92821
Tutoring and test prep (SAT, ACT, AP subjects, math), per the operator's own site. A suite address on the Lambert Road corridor. Tutoring, so no child care license.
01
Zoning: the city's Business Road Map tells new businesses to check the zoning map and Title 20 (the Zoning Code) for whether the use is permitted at the address, and to call Planning at 714-990-7674. We could not read the Title 20 use table ourselves, so get the day care and tutoring classification for your specific zone from Planning in writing before you sign.
02
If the use is conditional, Brea routes it to the Planning Commission. The city's CUP page says notice is mailed to owners within 300 feet at least ten days before the hearing, the city tells you within 30 days whether the application is complete, and appeals must be filed within 10 days of the decision. Build that into the lease contingency period.
03
Parking: the Business Road Map says to check the parking minimum for the proposed use at the specific location. Ask Planning for the ratio Title 20 applies to day care or tutoring, then test it against the center's existing count.
04
Outdoor play area: Title 22 requires 75 square feet of outdoor activity space per child with a fence at least four feet high (22 CCR 101238.2) and 35 square feet of indoor activity space per child (101238.3). For scale, Childtime's 107-child preschool license on Birch Street works out to about 8,025 square feet of yard at that ratio, and its state record notes yard-sharing waivers.
05
Fire clearance: 22 CCR 101171 requires a fire clearance before CDSS will license the center. Ask the landlord what occupancy classification the suite has now and who pays for any change.
06
Supply check: with 11 Day Care Center licenses citywide and the newest (Montessori of Brea, 63 children) issued in February 2025, look at how close a proposed site on Imperial Highway, Birch Street or Lambert Road is to the existing centers listed here.
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.