Child care · Small-town market · Alabama
Child care centers and preschools in the Fort Payne, AL area
The child care centers and preschools in the Fort Payne, AL area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 70 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #73 of 454 scored small-town markets
#3 of 11 scored small-town markets based in Alabama
- Listings
- 6
- 2 chain locations (33%)
- Official establishments
- 8
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $7.9M
- On child care and other personal services · $301 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.3M
- 31% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 2.3
- 60% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 74,085
- +3.4% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Fort Payne area
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 the Fort Payne area. 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 6 child care centers and preschools in the Fort Payne area. Of those, 2 are chain locations, or 33%, against 12% across the U.S. That is 2.3 per 10,000 households, 60% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Fort Payne area comes to about $7.9M a year: $301 per household, 48% below the U.S. average. That is about $1.3M of household spending for each center on map listings, 31% above the U.S. figure of $1M.
In 2023, official counts showed 8 businesses with payroll in the Fort Payne area classed as child care services. That is one for every 3,273 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 59 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Fort Payne area grew 3.4%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Fort Payne area is 70 (upper middle), #73 of 454 scored small-town markets and #3 of 11 scored small-town markets based in Alabama. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Fort Payne area 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 | Fort Payne area | Alabama | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 2.3 | 4.9 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.3M | $845K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 3,273 | 2,022 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +8.7% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.4% | +3.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $301 | $412 | $581 |
| Median household income | $51,204 | $63,999 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 70 | 54 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 8
- Employees, 2023
- 103
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 59Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 62 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 8The 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 the Fort Payne area, 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 the Fort Payne area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 74,085+3.4% since 2020
- Households
- 26,181
- Median age
- 40.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 78%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 777 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 93
- Median household income
- $51,204+26.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $68,235
- Median home value
- $152,700
- Jobs located here
- 22,918
- Daytime population
- 67,317Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Fort Payne area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 the Fort Payne area. 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 small-town markets in Alabama for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Alabama (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Fort Payne area marked.
Top small-town markets in Alabama
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Albertville, AL | 83 | 11 | 3.0 | $1.3M | +6.0% | #10 of 454 |
| 2Scottsboro, AL | 75 | 6 | 2.8 | $1.2M | +3.3% | #45 of 454 |
| 3Fort Payne, AL | 70 | 6 | 2.3 | $1.3M | +3.4% | #73 of 454 |
| 4Ozark, AL | 67 | 5 | 2.5 | $1.3M | +1.3% | #95 of 454 |
| 5Cullman, AL | 66 | 15 | 4.2 | $901K | +6.7% | #111 of 454 |
| 6Enterprise, AL | 60 | 14 | 6.7 | $629K | +6.3% | #153 of 454 |
| 7Alexander City, AL | 53 | 6 | 3.5 | $1M | −0.8% | #204 of 454 |
| 8Talladega-Sylacauga, AL | 51 | 16 | 4.2 | $809K | 0.0% | #225 of 454 |
| LaGrange, GA-AL | 47 | 24 | 5.9 | $597K | +3.0% | #260 of 454 |
| 9Russellville, AL | 38 | 6 | 5.0 | $615K | +1.1% | #327 of 454 |
Other business types in the Fort Payne area
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 preschools70
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Fort Payne, AL area?
There are 6 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Fort Payne area as of September 2026. 2 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 59 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Fort Payne, AL area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $7.9M a year, or $301 per household. That is 48% below the U.S. average (an index of 52, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 6 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.3M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 26,181 households in the Fort Payne area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Fort Payne, AL area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Fort Payne area has 2.3 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 60% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.3M, 31% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Fort Payne area would have about 8, against 6 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,273 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Fort Payne, AL area growing?
Population estimates put the Fort Payne area at 74,085 people in 2025, up 3.4% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 26,181 households. The median household income in the Fort Payne area is $51,204 a year, 37% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 26.6% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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. The Fort Payne area scores 70 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #73 of 454 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Fort Payne area. 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 the Fort Payne area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fort Payne area?
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 the Fort Payne area. 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.