Child care · County · Alabama
Child care centers and preschools in Dale County, AL
How Dale County, AL compares with other counties and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 63 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #445 of 1,611 scored counties
#15 of 40 scored counties in Alabama
- Listings
- 5
- 1 chain location (20%)
- Official establishments
- 8
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $6.7M
- On child care and other personal services · $339 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.3M
- 33% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 2.5
- 57% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 49,912
- +1.3% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Dale County
The site report maps the child care centers and preschools on map listings near the address, by name and distance, and sizes the households and spending around it. Or open the report at the center of Dale County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardSurvey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure
What this means
At $339 per household (42% below the U.S. average), households in Dale County spend about $6.7M a year on child care and other personal services. That is about $1.3M of household spending for each center on map listings, 33% above the U.S. figure of $1M.
Dale County has 5 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (20%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 2.5, 57% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 8 businesses with payroll in Dale County classed as child care services. That is one for every 2,466 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 56 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Dale County grew 1.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For child care centers and preschools, Dale County has a Groundwork market score of 63 (upper middle): #445 of 1,611 scored counties and #15 of 40 scored counties in Alabama.
How Dale County compares
The same measures for Alabama and the whole U.S. Spending per listing divides a year of household spending on all child care and other personal services by the child care centers and preschools counted, so it measures the demand for each competitor, not any business’s revenue. Households per establishment does the same with the official count.
| Measure | Dale County | Alabama | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 2.5 | 4.9 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.3M | $845K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,466 | 2,022 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +8.7% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.3% | +3.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $339 | $412 | $581 |
| Median household income | $54,963 | $63,999 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 63 | 54 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 6 → 8
- Employees, 2023
- 84
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 56Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 51 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 7The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in Dale County, through June 2026, placed by the borrower’s ZIP code. Official establishments are businesses with payroll; the official counts leave out places with fewer than 3.
Population and households in Dale County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 49,912+1.3% since 2020
- Households
- 19,727
- Median age
- 40.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 561 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 88
- Median household income
- $54,963+16.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $74,266
- Median home value
- $143,500
- Jobs located here
- 15,272
- Daytime population
- 47,928Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Dale County?
These figures cover the whole county. A site report draws rings around one address and counts what’s inside them: households, spending, jobs, and the child care centers and preschools on map listings by name and distance.
Or open the report at the center of Dale County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardChild care and preschools across Alabama
Every Alabama market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Alabama for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Alabama, with Dale County marked.
Top counties in Alabama
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Limestone County, AL | 83 | 15 | 3.7 | $1.4M | +18.0% | #56 of 1,611 |
| 2St. Clair County, AL | 79 | 10 | 2.8 | $1.4M | +7.1% | #94 of 1,611 |
| 3Marshall County, AL | 78 | 11 | 3.0 | $1.3M | +6.0% | #115 of 1,611 |
| 4Shelby County, AL | 75 | 52 | 6.0 | $1M | +6.5% | #165 of 1,611 |
| 5Baldwin County, AL | 72 | 51 | 5.2 | $916K | +14.8% | #224 of 1,611 |
| 6Jackson County, AL | 69 | 6 | 2.8 | $1.2M | +3.3% | #283 of 1,611 |
| 7Madison County, AL | 69 | 98 | 5.9 | $910K | +11.0% | #300 of 1,611 |
| 8DeKalb County, AL | 68 | 6 | 2.3 | $1.3M | +3.4% | #307 of 1,611 |
| 9Blount County, AL | 67 | 5 | 2.3 | $1.7M | +1.8% | #331 of 1,611 |
| 10Autauga County, AL | 67 | 10 | 4.4 | $1M | +5.1% | #341 of 1,611 |
| 15Dale County, AL | 63 | 5 | 2.5 | $1.3M | +1.3% | #445 of 1,611 |
Other business types in Dale County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
- Child care and preschools63
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in Dale County, AL?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 5 child care centers and preschools in Dale County. One of them (20%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts also show 56 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Dale County, AL spend on child care and other personal services?
About $6.7M a year, or $339 per household. That is 42% below the U.S. average (an index of 58, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.3M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 19,727 households in Dale County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Dale County, AL compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
Dale County has 2.5 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 57% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.3M, 33% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Dale County would have about 7, against 5 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,466 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is Dale County, AL growing?
Population estimates put Dale County at 49,912 people in 2025, up 1.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 19,727 households. Median household income in Dale County is $54,963, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 16.4%, before inflation.
What is the Groundwork market score?
The Groundwork market score runs from 0 to 100 and compares a market with others of its kind for one business type: states with states, metro areas with metro areas, small-town markets and counties with their own. It weighs household spending per competitor (35%), households per business with payroll (25%), population growth (20%) and spending power (20%), each ranked against those peers. A higher score means that, taken together, the market has more household spending and more households for each business already there, faster population growth and more spending per household than similar markets. It describes a market, not any one site or deal. Dale County scores 63 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #445 of 1,611 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Dale County. It maps the child care centers and preschools on map listings near the site and sizes the households and spending within the distance you choose. New accounts get 10 actions over 3 days, no card.
How the score works · Top markets for child care centers and preschools · All 56 business types in Dale County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Dale County?
A site report maps the competitors on map listings near an address and sizes the households and spending around it.
The button opens the report at the center of Dale County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
This product uses the Census Bureau Data API but is not endorsed or certified by the Census Bureau.
Figures are estimates for research only. Not investment or real estate advice.