Child care · Small-town market · California
Child care centers and preschools in the Clearlake, CA area
The child care centers and preschools in the Clearlake, CA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 59 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #156 of 454 scored small-town markets
#2 of 6 scored small-town markets based in California
- Listings
- 16
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 15
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $15.3M
- On child care and other personal services · $568 a household
- Spending per listing
- $957K
- 4% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.9
- 2% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 67,772
- −0.6% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Clearlake 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 Clearlake 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
Households in the Clearlake area spend about $15.3M a year on child care and other personal services, or $568 per household, 2% below the U.S. average. That is about $957K of household spending for each center on map listings, 4% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The Clearlake area has 16 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That is 5.9 per 10,000 households, 2% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 15 businesses with payroll in the Clearlake area classed as child care services. That is one for every 1,796 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 153 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in the Clearlake area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Clearlake area scores 59 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #156 of 454 scored small-town markets and #2 of 6 scored small-town markets based in California.
How the Clearlake area compares
The same measures for California 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 | Clearlake area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.9 | 6.8 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $957K | $1.3M | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,796 | 1,401 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +8.1% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.6% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $568 | $886 | $581 |
| Median household income | $60,621 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 59 | 61 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 15
- Employees, 2023
- 94
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 153Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 160 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 15The 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 Clearlake 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 Clearlake area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 67,772−0.6% since 2020
- Households
- 26,940
- Median age
- 44.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 1,255 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 54
- Median household income
- $60,621+28.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $86,306
- Median home value
- $324,300
- Jobs located here
- 15,936
- Daytime population
- 61,990Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Clearlake 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 Clearlake 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 California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in California for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in California (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Clearlake area marked.
Top small-town markets in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Gardnerville Ranchos, NV-CA | 86 | 9 | 4.1 | $1.9M | +0.9% | #7 of 454 |
| 1Sonora, CA | 71 | 14 | 6.2 | $1.1M | −4.0% | #69 of 454 |
| 2Clearlake, CA | 59 | 16 | 5.9 | $957K | −0.6% | #156 of 454 |
| 3Truckee-Grass Valley, CA | 58 | 34 | 7.9 | $1M | −0.4% | #166 of 454 |
| 4Ukiah, CA | 52 | 23 | 6.6 | $911K | −3.5% | #212 of 454 |
| 5Eureka-Arcata, CA | 47 | 31 | 5.6 | $992K | −3.4% | #251 of 454 |
| 6Red Bluff, CA | 42 | 18 | 7.3 | $753K | −1.7% | #303 of 454 |
Other business types in the Clearlake 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 preschools59
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Clearlake, CA area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 16 child care centers and preschools in the Clearlake area. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 153 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Clearlake, CA area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $15.3M a year, or $568 per household. That is 2% below the U.S. average (an index of 98, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 16 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $957K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 26,940 households in the Clearlake area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Clearlake, CA area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Clearlake area has 5.9 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 2% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $957K, 4% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Clearlake area would have about 15, against 16 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,796 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Clearlake, CA area growing?
Population estimates put the Clearlake area at 67,772 people in 2025, down 0.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 26,940 households. Median household income in the Clearlake area is $60,621, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.9%, 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 Clearlake area scores 59 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #156 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 Clearlake 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 Clearlake area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Clearlake 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 Clearlake 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.