Child care · Metro area · Arkansas
Child care centers and preschools in the Jonesboro, AR metro area
How the Jonesboro, AR metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 35 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #293 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 5 scored metro areas based in Arkansas
- Listings
- 27
- 5 chain locations (19%)
- Official establishments
- 31
- +6.9% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $19.9M
- On child care and other personal services · $375 a household
- Spending per listing
- $739K
- 26% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.1
- 12% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 139,440
- +3.6% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Jonesboro 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 Jonesboro 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
The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Jonesboro metro area is 35 (lower middle), #293 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 5 scored metro areas based in Arkansas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Jonesboro metro area comes to about $19.9M a year: $375 per household, 35% below the U.S. average. Spread across 27 child care centers and preschools, that is $739K per center, 26% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
There are 27 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Jonesboro metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 19% of them, against 12% across the U.S. That is 5.1 per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 31 businesses with payroll in the Jonesboro metro area classed as child care services, up 6.9% from 2019. That is one for every 1,717 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $183K have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Jonesboro metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Jonesboro metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +3.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Jonesboro metro area compares
The same measures for Arkansas 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 | Jonesboro metro area | Arkansas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.1 | 5.5 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $739K | $702K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,717 | 1,657 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +6.9% | +5.5% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.6% | +3.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $375 | $385 | $581 |
| Median household income | $56,738 | $60,773 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 35 | 34 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 31+6.9% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 925
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $28.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 279Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 275 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 20The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $183K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Jonesboro 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 Jonesboro metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 139,440+3.6% since 2020
- Households
- 53,229
- Median age
- 36.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 61%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,466 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 93
- Median household income
- $56,738+23.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $81,333
- Median home value
- $192,200
- Jobs located here
- 59,276
- Daytime population
- 139,762Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Jonesboro 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 Jonesboro 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 Arkansas
Every Arkansas market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Arkansas for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Arkansas (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Jonesboro metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Arkansas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Fayetteville-Springdale-Rogers, AR | 59 | 126 | 5.8 | $865K | +13.1% | #129 of 387 |
| 2Hot Springs, AR | 47 | 14 | 3.2 | $1.1M | −0.6% | #215 of 387 |
| 3Little Rock-North Little Rock-Conway, AR | 40 | 165 | 5.3 | $798K | +3.8% | #265 of 387 |
| 4Jonesboro, AR | 35 | 27 | 5.1 | $739K | +3.6% | #293 of 387 |
| 5Fort Smith, AR-OK | 31 | 46 | 5.1 | $702K | +3.1% | #326 of 387 |
| Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 29 | 330 | 6.3 | $694K | −0.3% | #334 of 387 |
| Texarkana, TX-AR | 12 | 39 | 6.9 | $520K | −0.4% | #383 of 387 |
Other business types in the Jonesboro 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 preschools35
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Jonesboro, AR metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 27 child care centers and preschools in the Jonesboro metro area. 5 of them (19%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 31 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 6.9% from 2019. Another 279 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Jonesboro, AR metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $19.9M a year, or $375 per household. That is 35% below the U.S. average (an index of 65, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 27 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $739K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 53,229 households in the Jonesboro metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Jonesboro, AR metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Jonesboro metro area has 5.1 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $739K, 26% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Jonesboro metro area would have about 20, against 27 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,717 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 6.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Jonesboro, AR metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Jonesboro metro area at 139,440 people in 2025, up 3.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 53,229 households. Median household income in the Jonesboro metro area is $56,738, 30% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.2%, 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 Jonesboro metro area scores 35 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #293 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 Jonesboro 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 Jonesboro metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Jonesboro 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 Jonesboro 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.