How this list is ranked
Centres are ordered by a rating estimate. That is not the raw Google star average: the estimate blends a centre's own average with the average across Waterloo, and it weights the two by how many reviews the centre has.
The city average used here is 4.5 stars. It is taken across the 23 licensed daycares in Waterloo that clear the review bar.
A centre with 10 reviews sits exactly half way between its own average and the city average. Past that it leans on its own record. Below it, it leans on the city.
A centre with fewer than 5 Google reviews is never ranked on this page. It can still be a good centre; there is simply not enough evidence to place it against the others, and placing it anyway would be guesswork with a number attached to it.
Google ratings are third party. They are shown as plain text, they are not collected by MapleCub, and they are not marked up as review data anywhere on this page.
The badges below each centre report facts about the listing: whether the provider has claimed it, whether opening hours are published, whether a provincial registry reported an opening, whether the centre is enrolled in CWELCC. None of them change the score. None of them change the order.
10 best-rated licensed daycares in Waterloo
- 1
Grow Together Child Care Centre
543 Beechwood Dr.
5.0 stars from 25 Google reviews
Hours published: 07:00 to 18:00Score inputs: rating 5.0, reviews 25, rating estimate 4.8.
- 2
Waterloo Montessori Academy
200 King Street
5.0 stars from 16 Google reviews
Hours published: 07:30 to 17:30Score inputs: rating 5.0, reviews 16, rating estimate 4.8.
- 3
Waterloo Co-Operative Preschool
22 Bridgeport Road
4.8 stars from 29 Google reviews
Hours published: 07:30 to 16:00Score inputs: rating 4.8, reviews 29, rating estimate 4.7.
- 4
Risingoaks Early Learning | Lincoln Road
145 Lincoln Road
4.9 stars from 11 Google reviews
Hours published: 07:00 to 18:00Score inputs: rating 4.9, reviews 11, rating estimate 4.7.
- 5
Risingoaks Early Learning | St. Matthew
405 Pastern Trail
5.0 stars from 7 Google reviews
Hours published: 06:30 to 18:00Score inputs: rating 5.0, reviews 7, rating estimate 4.7.
- 6
St. John'S Christian Nursery School
22 Willow Street
4.9 stars from 9 Google reviews
Hours published: 08:30 to 16:00Score inputs: rating 4.9, reviews 9, rating estimate 4.7.
- 7
Risingoaks Early Learning | St. Luke
550 Chesapeake Drive
5.0 stars from 6 Google reviews
Hours published: 06:30 to 18:00Score inputs: rating 5.0, reviews 6, rating estimate 4.7.
- 8
Creative Beginnings Early Learning & Care- University
2415 University Avenue
4.7 stars from 15 Google reviews
Hours published: 07:00 to 18:00Score inputs: rating 4.7, reviews 15, rating estimate 4.6.
- 9
Millen Woods Child Care Centre
640 New Hampshire Street
4.7 stars from 13 Google reviews
Hours published: 07:30 to 17:30Score inputs: rating 4.7, reviews 13, rating estimate 4.6.
- 10
Simplysmart Childcare Centre & Montessori
68 Alexandra Avenue
4.6 stars from 19 Google reviews
Hours published: 07:30 to 17:30Score inputs: rating 4.6, reviews 19, rating estimate 4.6.
20 more licensed daycares in Waterloo have a MapleCub listing, including the ones with too few reviews to rank. See every daycare in Waterloo.
Questions about this list
How many licensed daycares are there in Waterloo?
MapleCub lists 30 licensed daycares in Waterloo. 23 of them have at least 5 Google reviews, which is the bar to be ranked on this page. The top 10 are shown here.
How is this ranking worked out?
Centres are ordered by a rating estimate. That is not the raw Google star average: the estimate blends a centre's own average with the average across Waterloo, and it weights the two by how many reviews the centre has. The city average used here is 4.5 stars. It is taken across the 23 licensed daycares in Waterloo that clear the review bar. A centre with 10 reviews sits exactly half way between its own average and the city average. Past that it leans on its own record. Below it, it leans on the city. A centre with fewer than 5 Google reviews is never ranked on this page. It can still be a good centre; there is simply not enough evidence to place it against the others, and placing it anyway would be guesswork with a number attached to it.
Which centres are included on this list?
Every licensed child care programme MapleCub has a visible listing for in this city counts. Approach and programme type make no difference.
Are these MapleCub's own ratings?
No. The star ratings and review counts on this page come from Google, they are shown as plain text, and MapleCub does not collect them, does not adjust them, and does not mark them up as structured review data anywhere on the page. What MapleCub adds is the ordering. The method above says exactly how that is worked out.
How do I check that a centre on this list is licensed?
Every centre on this list is a licensed programme in MapleCub's records, each listing page shows the licence status MapleCub holds for it, and the authoritative record behind both of those is the province's own registry. Look the centre up there by name before you enrol. Confirm the licence is current.