Groundwork

Child care · County · Arkansas

Child care centers and preschools in Polk County, AR

The child care centers and preschools in Polk County, AR, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 3.

Listings
3
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$2.5M
On child care and other personal services · $315 a household
Spending per listing
$829K
17% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.8
34% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
19,486
+1.6% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Polk 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 Polk County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Households in Polk County spend about $2.5M a year on child care and other personal services, or $315 per household, 46% below the U.S. average. Spread across 3 child care centers and preschools, that is $829K per center, 17% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

Polk County has 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. That is 3.8 per 10,000 households, 34% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Polk County was 3 in 2023. That is one for every 2,633 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 17 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Population estimates put the population change in Polk County from 2020 to 2025 at +1.6%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). With 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings, Polk County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.

How Polk County 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.

Child care and preschools in Polk County, AR compared with Arkansas and the U.S.
MeasurePolk CountyArkansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.85.55.8
Spending per listing$829K$702K$1M
Households per official establishment2,6331,6571,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.5%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.6%+3.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$315$385$581
Median household income$49,191$60,773$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored34

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3
Employees, 2023
45
Annual payroll, 2023
$970K
One-person businesses, 2023
17Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
30 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
3The 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 Polk 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 Polk County

Population, 2025 estimate
19,486+1.6% since 2020
Households
7,898
Median age
44.2
Homes lived in by their owners
79%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
857 sq. mi.
People per square mile
23
Median household income
$49,191+29.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$67,957
Median home value
$138,400
Jobs located here
5,915
Daytime population
18,129Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Polk 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 Polk County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Child care and preschools across Arkansas

Every Arkansas market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Arkansas for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Arkansas, with Polk County marked.

Top counties in Arkansas

Counties in Arkansas ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Benton County, AR68696.2$927K+16.0%#322 of 1,611
2Saline County, AR61214.2$1M+7.6%#512 of 1,611
3Washington County, AR60545.6$795K+9.9%#559 of 1,611
4Baxter County, AR5663.1$983K+3.1%#658 of 1,611
5White County, AR56124.1$803K+4.2%#668 of 1,611
6Craighead County, AR55194.3$916K+4.8%#686 of 1,611
7Faulkner County, AR54255.1$816K+8.2%#733 of 1,611
8Garland County, AR51143.2$1.1M−0.6%#790 of 1,611
9Independence County, AR5174.8$732K+2.2%#804 of 1,611
10Boone County, AR4374.6$712K+3.3%#1,013 of 1,611
Polk County, ARNot scored33.8$829K+1.6%

Other business types in Polk County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many child care centers and preschools are in Polk County, AR?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 3 child care centers and preschools in Polk County. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 17 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Polk County, AR spend on child care and other personal services?

About $2.5M a year, or $315 per household. That is 46% below the U.S. average (an index of 54, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $829K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 7,898 households in Polk County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Polk County, AR compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?

Polk County has 3.8 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 34% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $829K, 17% below the U.S. figure of $1M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,633 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is Polk County, AR growing?

Population estimates put Polk County at 19,486 people in 2025, up 1.6% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 7,898 households. Median household income in Polk County is $49,191, 39% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.5%, 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. Polk County has no market score for child care centers and preschools: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 3.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Polk 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 Polk County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Polk 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 Polk 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.