Child care · Small-town market · Arkansas
Child care centers and preschools in the Malvern, AR area
How the Malvern, AR area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 39 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #325 of 454 scored small-town markets
#5 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Arkansas
- Listings
- 8
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 5
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $4M
- On child care and other personal services · $322 a household
- Spending per listing
- $495K
- 51% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.5
- 12% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 33,451
- +1.1% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Malvern 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 Malvern 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 8 child care centers and preschools in the Malvern area. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.5, 12% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Malvern area comes to about $4M a year: $322 per household, 45% below the U.S. average. Spread across 8 child care centers and preschools, that is $495K per center, 51% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Malvern area was 5 in 2023. That is one for every 2,462 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 36 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $204K have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Malvern area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Malvern area grew 1.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For child care centers and preschools, the Malvern area has a Groundwork market score of 39 (lower middle): #325 of 454 scored small-town markets and #5 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Arkansas.
How the Malvern 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 | Malvern area | Arkansas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.5 | 5.5 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $495K | $702K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,462 | 1,657 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.5% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.1% | +3.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $322 | $385 | $581 |
| Median household income | $55,405 | $60,773 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 39 | 34 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5
- Employees, 2023
- 48
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $809K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 36Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 80 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 4The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $204K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Malvern 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 Malvern area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 33,451+1.1% since 2020
- Households
- 12,310
- Median age
- 42.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 76%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 615 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 54
- Median household income
- $55,405+26.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $70,323
- Median home value
- $151,100
- Jobs located here
- 7,843
- Daytime population
- 28,215Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Malvern 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 Malvern 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 small-town markets in Arkansas for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Arkansas, with the Malvern area marked.
Top small-town markets in Arkansas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Searcy, AR | 62 | 12 | 4.1 | $803K | +4.2% | #132 of 454 |
| 2Mountain Home, AR | 59 | 6 | 3.1 | $983K | +3.1% | #155 of 454 |
| 3Batesville, AR | 59 | 7 | 4.8 | $732K | +2.2% | #161 of 454 |
| 4Harrison, AR | 44 | 8 | 4.3 | $738K | +2.4% | #280 of 454 |
| 5Malvern, AR | 39 | 8 | 6.5 | $495K | +1.1% | #325 of 454 |
| 6Russellville, AR | 35 | 18 | 5.5 | $634K | +1.6% | #351 of 454 |
| 7Camden, AR | 30 | 6 | 5.8 | $565K | −3.6% | #380 of 454 |
| 8Forrest City, AR | 23 | 5 | 6.4 | $440K | −5.3% | #414 of 454 |
| 9Pine Bluff, AR | 18 | 18 | 6.7 | $474K | −5.6% | #428 of 454 |
| 10Blytheville, AR | 15 | 13 | 8.4 | $440K | −6.7% | #438 of 454 |
Other business types in the Malvern 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 preschools39
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Malvern, AR area?
The Malvern area has 8 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 36 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Malvern, AR area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $4M a year, or $322 per household. That is 45% below the U.S. average (an index of 55, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 8 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $495K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 12,310 households in the Malvern area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Malvern, AR area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Malvern area has 6.5 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 12% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $495K, 51% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Malvern area would have about 4, against 8 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,462 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Malvern, AR area growing?
Population estimates put the Malvern area at 33,451 people in 2025, up 1.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 12,310 households. The median household income in the Malvern area is $55,405 a year, 31% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 26.2% 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 Malvern area scores 39 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #325 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 Malvern 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 Malvern area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Malvern 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 Malvern 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.