Child care · Metro area · Alabama
Child care centers and preschools in the Gadsden, AL metro area
The child care centers and preschools in the Gadsden, AL metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 26 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #351 of 387 scored metro areas
#11 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama
- Listings
- 21
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 19
- −9.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $12.9M
- On child care and other personal services · $326 a household
- Spending per listing
- $612K
- 39% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.3
- 9% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 103,886
- +0.4% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Gadsden metro 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 Gadsden metro 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
For child care centers and preschools, the Gadsden metro area has a Groundwork market score of 26 (lower middle): #351 of 387 scored metro areas and #11 of 12 scored metro areas based in Alabama. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Gadsden metro area comes to about $12.9M a year: $326 per household, 44% below the U.S. average. That is about $612K of household spending for each center on map listings, 39% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
There are 21 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Gadsden metro area as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 5.3 for every 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Gadsden metro area was 19 in 2023, down 9.5% from 2019. That is one for every 2,074 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $195K has gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Gadsden metro area. Population estimates show the Gadsden metro area grew 0.4% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Gadsden metro 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 | Gadsden metro area | Alabama | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.3 | 4.9 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $612K | $845K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,074 | 2,022 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −9.5% | +8.7% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.4% | +3.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $326 | $412 | $581 |
| Median household income | $54,563 | $63,999 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 26 | 54 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 19−9.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 253
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $6.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 107Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 210 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 13The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $195K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Gadsden metro 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 Gadsden metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 103,886+0.4% since 2020
- Households
- 39,411
- Median age
- 42.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 535 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 193
- Median household income
- $54,563+22.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $73,295
- Median home value
- $167,100
- Jobs located here
- 33,151
- Daytime population
- 97,399Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Gadsden metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Gadsden metro 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 metro areas 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 Gadsden metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Alabama
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Huntsville, AL | 69 | 113 | 5.5 | $976K | +12.5% | #61 of 387 |
| 2Daphne-Fairhope-Foley, AL | 69 | 51 | 5.2 | $916K | +14.8% | #63 of 387 |
| 3Tuscaloosa, AL | 61 | 42 | 4.0 | $1M | +2.9% | #111 of 387 |
| 4Auburn-Opelika, AL | 56 | 40 | 5.2 | $814K | +7.1% | #158 of 387 |
| 5Birmingham, AL | 53 | 232 | 5.0 | $925K | +1.4% | #178 of 387 |
| 6Florence-Muscle Shoals, AL | 44 | 30 | 4.7 | $800K | +3.5% | #242 of 387 |
| 7Decatur, AL | 38 | 31 | 4.9 | $837K | +2.5% | #278 of 387 |
| 8Anniston-Oxford, AL | 35 | 21 | 4.7 | $714K | −0.3% | #296 of 387 |
| Columbus, GA-AL | 33 | 54 | 4.2 | $910K | −1.3% | #306 of 387 |
| 9Mobile, AL | 32 | 85 | 5.3 | $723K | −0.7% | #318 of 387 |
| 11Gadsden, AL | 26 | 21 | 5.3 | $612K | +0.4% | #351 of 387 |
Other business types in the Gadsden metro 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 preschools26
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Gadsden, AL metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 21 child care centers and preschools in the Gadsden metro area. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 19 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, down 9.5% from 2019. Official counts list 107 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Gadsden, AL metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $12.9M a year, or $326 per household. That is 44% below the U.S. average (an index of 56, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 21 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $612K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 39,411 households in the Gadsden metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Gadsden, AL metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Gadsden metro area has 5.3 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $612K, 39% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Gadsden metro area would have about 13, against 21 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,074 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count fell 9.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Gadsden, AL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Gadsden metro area at 103,886 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 39,411 households. Median household income in the Gadsden metro area is $54,563, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.2%, 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. The Gadsden metro area scores 26 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #351 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Gadsden metro 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 Gadsden metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Gadsden metro 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 Gadsden metro 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.