Santa Ana / Central Orange County
Santa Ana has about 70 licensed day care centers, but most are Santa Ana Unified, community college or church sites. The private operators in commercial space are spread along the corridors: Tutor Time on North Bristol Street, Kiddie Academy and California Kids Centers on North Grand Avenue, Love 2 Learn on West 17th Street, Sunflower Preschool on West Edinger Avenue and KinderCare on West Sunflower Avenue. The zoning is the draw here. Daycare centers are a listed permitted use in the C1 Community Commercial district, and C2 General Commercial allows everything C1 does, so the search can start with use already allowed and focus on yard space and parking.
Population
312,534
Median HHI
$93,999
Median age
34.7
Homeownership
44.6%
Source: U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 2020-2024 5-year estimates.
Primary retail corridors
Bristol Street · Main Street · 17th Street · First Street · MacArthur Boulevard · Harbor Boulevard · Edinger Avenue
Specific shopping centers in Santa Ana that already carry credible co-tenancy for this use. Listed in approximate order of fit.
17th Street corridor, central Santa Ana
Anchors / key tenants: dense neighborhood-service mix
Dense central Santa Ana corridor with neighborhood-service retail. Cuts through historic residential pockets — strong local resident customer base.
Existing operators are the most honest comp for whether a use can support Santa Ana rents. These are publicly visible daycare and education space businesses currently trading in the market.
Tutor Time of Santa Ana
2709 N. Bristol Street, Suite E-1, Santa Ana, CA 92706
State-licensed day care center in a suite address on North Bristol Street, capacity 106, first licensed in 2006, with a capacity increase pending (CDSS facility 304370279). The operator's page lists ages 6 weeks to 12 years.
Kiddie Academy of Santa Ana
1345 N. Grand Avenue, Santa Ana, CA 92701
State-licensed day care center, capacity 92 preschool children, first licensed in 2019 (CDSS facility 304371224).
South Coast KinderCare
2515 W. Sunflower Avenue, Santa Ana, CA 92704
State-licensed day care center, capacity 78, first licensed in 1997 (CDSS facility 304270403). Listed on KinderCare's own locator.
Love 2 Learn Preschool
1200 W. 17th Street, Santa Ana, CA 92706
State-licensed day care center, capacity 74, ages 2 to 6, first licensed in 2009, licensee Sunflower Preschools, Inc. (CDSS facility 304370518). On the 17th Street corridor.
California Kids Centers
2428 N. Grand Avenue, Suite H, Santa Ana, CA 92705
State-licensed day care center in a suite, capacity 48 including a small toddler option, first licensed in 2014 (CDSS facility 304370875). A useful example of a smaller center in multi-tenant space.
Sunflower Preschool & Kindergarten
2129 W. Edinger Avenue, Santa Ana, CA 92704
State-licensed day care center, capacity 59, ages 2 to 5, first licensed in 2011 (CDSS facility 304370702). On the Edinger Avenue corridor.
01
Zoning: Santa Ana Municipal Code Section 41-365(p) lists Daycare centers as a permitted use in the C1 district, and Section 41-377(a) carries all C1 permitted uses into C2. Adult day care is different and needs a conditional use permit under Section 41-365.5. Confirm the parcel is actually zoned C1 or C2, because large parts of Santa Ana are covered by specific plans and special districts with their own use lists.
02
Tutoring and enrichment: Section 41-365(o) permits schools and studios operated for commercial or public purposes in C1. Ask Planning to confirm your tutoring, music or swim concept is classified there.
03
Parking: Section 41-1412 requires 1 space for each 8 individuals plus 1 for each supervisor or teacher, and any child care facility serving 10 or more at a time must also provide a passenger loading and unloading zone. Trade and business schools are parked at 1 space per 40 sq ft of classroom area under Section 41-1402, which is heavy for a shopping center, so get the classification in writing.
04
Section 41-366 requires C1 business activity to be conducted inside an enclosed building, with listed exceptions. Ask Planning how an outdoor play yard is handled for a permitted daycare center on your site.
05
State licensing: 35 sq ft of indoor activity space per child (22 CCR 101238.3), 75 sq ft of fenced outdoor space per child with a fence at least four feet high (22 CCR 101238.2), and one toilet and sink per 15 children (22 CCR 101239). The 48-child California Kids Centers license shows the small end of what works: roughly 1,680 sq ft of activity rooms and 3,600 sq ft of yard.
06
Fire clearance under 22 CCR 101171 is required before licensing. Several Santa Ana licenses (Tutor Time, Ricca Children's Learning Center) show capacity increases pending, so ask any existing operator you are replacing what capacity the space was cleared for.
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.