You get a range of options, and it definitely depends on the age of your child. $700-800/mo is about what I'd call the middle of the road for childcare here. Y

You get a range of options, and it definitely depends on the age of your child. $700-800/mo is about what I'd call the middle of the road for childcare here. You can pay less and get a sketchy center that basically gets your kid a bare room and an oversized class for 8 hours, or pay more for really premium preschool with cooking classes and such, or montessori for closer to $1200-$1500. Children to teacher ratios do seem to be lower in California, which is probably what is (partially) increasing those costs.