Child care · Metro area · California
Child care centers and preschools in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA metro area
How the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA 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 55 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #161 of 387 scored metro areas
#19 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 75
- 7 chain locations (9%)
- Official establishments
- 102
- +5.2% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $91.3M
- On child care and other personal services · $834 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.2M
- 22% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.8
- 17% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 282,367
- 0.0% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles 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 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 75 child care centers and preschools in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area. Chain locations make up 9% of them, against 12% across the U.S. That is 6.8 per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area comes to about $91.3M a year: $834 per household, 44% above the U.S. average. Spread across 75 child care centers and preschools, that is $1.2M per center, 22% above the U.S. figure of $1M.
Official counts show 102 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area in 2023, up 5.2% from 2019. That is one for every 1,074 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 390 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $4M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area from 2020 to 2025 at 0.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area is 55 (upper middle), #161 of 387 scored metro areas and #19 of 25 scored metro areas based in California.
How the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro 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 | San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.8 | 6.8 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.2M | $1.3M | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,074 | 1,401 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +5.2% | +8.1% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | 0.0% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $834 | $886 | $581 |
| Median household income | $97,446 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 55 | 61 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 102+5.2% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 768
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $26.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 390Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 757 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 91The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 4
- Amount
- $4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles 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 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 282,3670.0% since 2020
- Households
- 109,503
- Median age
- 42.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 3,301 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 85
- Median household income
- $97,446+32.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $132,001
- Median home value
- $824,700
- Jobs located here
- 112,621
- Daytime population
- 276,085Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles 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 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles 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 California
Every California market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in California for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in California, with the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area marked.
Top metro areas in California
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Riverside-San Bernardino-Ontario, CA | 85 | 693 | 4.8 | $1.6M | +3.5% | #11 of 387 |
| 2Fresno, CA | 79 | 181 | 4.9 | $1.3M | +3.2% | #22 of 387 |
| 3Bakersfield-Delano, CA | 72 | 133 | 4.7 | $1.3M | +2.3% | #45 of 387 |
| 4Visalia, CA | 72 | 74 | 5.2 | $1.1M | +2.4% | #47 of 387 |
| 5Stockton-Lodi, CA | 71 | 175 | 7.1 | $1.1M | +5.5% | #54 of 387 |
| 6Merced, CA | 68 | 50 | 5.8 | $962K | +5.1% | #66 of 387 |
| 7Sacramento-Roseville-Folsom, CA | 67 | 607 | 6.9 | $1.2M | +3.2% | #71 of 387 |
| 8Modesto, CA | 64 | 110 | 6.2 | $1.1M | +0.7% | #90 of 387 |
| 9Salinas, CA | 62 | 70 | 5.3 | $1.5M | −1.5% | #95 of 387 |
| 10Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA | 62 | 2,917 | 6.5 | $1.3M | −2.6% | #97 of 387 |
| 19San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA | 55 | 75 | 6.8 | $1.2M | 0.0% | #161 of 387 |
Other business types in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles 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 preschools55
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA metro area?
There are 75 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area as of September 2026. 7 of them (9%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 102 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 5.2% from 2019. Another 390 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $91.3M a year, or $834 per household. That is 44% above the U.S. average (an index of 144, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 75 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.2M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 109,503 households in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area has 6.8 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.2M, 22% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area would have about 91, against 75 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,074 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 5.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area at 282,367 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 109,503 households. The median household income in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area is $97,446 a year, 21% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.6% 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. 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 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area scores 55 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #161 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 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles 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 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles 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 San Luis Obispo-Paso Robles 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.