Daycare Cost in Tulsa County, OK

Childcare in Tulsa County, OK

Tulsa County, home to Tulsa, has a population of 670,000 and an economy historically rooted in the oil and gas industry that has diversified into aerospace (American Airlines maintenance hub), healthcare (Saint Francis Health, Hillcrest), and a growing tech sector supported by the George Kaiser Family Foundation's Tulsa Remote program attracting remote workers. Infant care averages around $12,003 per year, moderate by national standards. The county's complex racial history, including the 1921 Tulsa Race Massacre and its long-term economic consequences for the Black community in North Tulsa, continues to shape childcare access disparities across the city.

Finding Care

South Tulsa, Brookside, and the Midtown area have the densest concentration of quality childcare centers, while Broken Arrow (the county's eastern suburb) has a growing and competitive market. North Tulsa, which has a predominantly Black population and lower incomes, faces the most significant childcare desert conditions in the county, with far fewer licensed providers per capita. Oklahoma's Reaching for the Stars quality program rates participating providers, with the strongest-rated supply in south and midtown Tulsa.

Local Resources

The Community Action Project of Tulsa County (CAP Tulsa) is one of the most innovative Head Start programs in the nation, operating a two-generation model that provides early childhood education alongside career coaching and education for parents. The George Kaiser Family Foundation (GKFF) has invested hundreds of millions in Tulsa's early childhood infrastructure, including the Tulsa Educare model that has been replicated nationally. Oklahoma DHS Child Care Services administers subsidies, and the Tulsa Area United Way supports additional early childhood quality initiatives.