Home North Carolina Hickory ZIP 28601

Licensed daycares in 28601Hickory, NC

There are 29 licensed child care providers in the ZIP code: 28601 — 27 licensed centers and 2 family day homes. Together they have been cited for 328 violations across 213 inspections in the past three years, an average of 1.54 violations per inspection, which is above the Hickory average of 0.94.

2 providers have a clean three-year record — inspected regularly, never cited. No facility in this ZIP code currently holds a revoked or suspended license.

The most-cited issue here is supervision (322 citations), followed by caregiver-to-child ratio (6). Worth knowing before you tour.

Every record below comes from North Carolina's child care licensing agency and links back to the state's own document.

Compare all 29 providers

Clean record — no violations in 3 years

2 providers.

Kate's In Home Daycare

Family day home · Capacity 5 · Ages 0 mo – 5 yr · 2929 5TH ST PL NE · Last inspected Feb 24, 2026

0 violationsActive
Shining Stars

Family day home · Capacity 5 · Ages 0 mo – 12 yr · 2342 25Th ST DR NE · Last inspected Feb 10, 2026

0 violationsActive

1–3 violations in 3 years

5 providers. Most citations here are paperwork and routine issues — read the actual citations before drawing conclusions.

Catawba Ridge Child Development Center

Center · Capacity 199 · Ages 0 mo – 12 yr · 1635 20Th Avenue Drive NE · Last inspected Jun 9, 2026

2 violationsActive
Oakwood Elementary Ymca Childcare

Center · Capacity 100 · Ages 5 yr – 12 yr · 366 4TH ST NW · Last inspected May 18, 2026

2 violationsActive
St. Stephens High School Pre K

Center · Capacity 36 · Ages 3 yr – 5 yr · 3205 34Th Street Drive NE · Last inspected Apr 30, 2026

2 violationsActive

4 or more violations in 3 years

22 providers. A higher count isn't automatically a red flag — read the actual citations before drawing conclusions.

Hickory Foundation Ymca Child Development Center

Center · Capacity 103 · Ages 0 mo – 5 yr · 701 1ST ST NW · Last inspected Jun 22, 2026

38 violationsActive
Children's Academy I

Center · Capacity 178 · Ages 0 mo – 12 yr · 411 10Th AVE Drive N E · Last inspected May 12, 2026

30 violationsActive
Northlakes Academy, Inc

Center · Capacity 122 · Ages 0 mo – 12 yr · 5638 Grace Chapel Road · Last inspected Jul 8, 2026

23 violationsActive

Questions to ask when you tour in 28601

Supervision is the most-cited issue among providers here, followed by caregiver-to-child ratio. Providers with clean records will have ready answers.

1

Walk me through how children are supervised during outdoor time and transitions between rooms.

2

How do you maintain caregiver-to-child ratios during shift changes, lunch breaks, and pickup?

3

Can I see your most recent inspection report and what you changed afterward?

A note on North Carolina records

North Carolina does not publish a severity classification for violations, so we can't tell you which citations were most serious — only what was cited and whether it was corrected. North Carolina does not publish complaint outcomes. We show everything the state makes public and link to the source for each item.

Data synced from North Carolina's child care licensing agency on Jul 9, 2026. Source records · Report an error