Edition 2026-Q2

Childcare safety & supply in North Carolina

North Carolina has 5,111 licensed childcare facilities with 370,354 licensed slots60 for every 100 children under five. State inspectors have recorded 26.9 high-severity findings per 100 facilities, and 81.6% of facilities carry none at all.

81Safety score (0–100)29th of 52
81.6%No high-severity findings27th of 52
60Licensed slots per 100 children under 527th of 38
370,354Licensed child slotsacross 5,111 facilities

North Carolina vs. the national picture

MeasureNorth CarolinaNational
Licensed slots per 100 children under 56063.4
Mean facility safety rating4.05 / 54.03 / 5
Facilities with no high-severity findings81.6%79.7%
High-severity findings per 100 facilities26.9107.8
Median facility size (licensed capacity)5430
Median years in operation2.54.3

Use this data

Free to republish and cite with attribution. The full national dataset is available as a CSV download, and we prepare custom extracts — county level, care type, longer time series — for journalists and researchers on request.

Cite this pageDaycareAlert Childcare Safety & Supply Index, 2026-Q2: North Carolina. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.21545571

Look up an individual North Carolina facility

These are state-level aggregates. To see one daycare's actual inspection history and safety rating, browse North Carolina by city or search by name, city, or ZIP. Our guide to reading inspection reports explains what the findings mean.

Methodology and caveats on cross-state comparison are published on the main index page. Edition generated 2026-07-25.