Child care · Metro area · California
Child care centers and preschools in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area
How the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, 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 51 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #185 of 387 scored metro areas
#21 of 25 scored metro areas based in California
- Listings
- 68
- 6 chain locations (9%)
- Official establishments
- 131
- −12.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $95.6M
- On child care and other personal services · $986 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.4M
- 40% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.0
- 21% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 258,852
- −4.7% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area comes to about $95.6M a year: $986 per household, 70% above the U.S. average. Spread across 68 child care centers and preschools, that is $1.4M per center, 40% above the U.S. figure of $1M.
The Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has 68 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 6 are chain locations, or 9%, against 12% across the U.S. That is 7.0 per 10,000 households, 21% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Official counts show 131 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area in 2023, down 12.7% from 2019. That is one for every 740 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 359 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 5 SBA-backed loans worth $5.5M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area.
Population estimates show the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area declined 4.7% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area is 51 (upper middle), #185 of 387 scored metro areas and #21 of 25 scored metro areas based in California.
How the Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 | Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.0 | 6.8 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.4M | $1.3M | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 740 | 1,401 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −12.7% | +8.1% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.7% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $986 | $886 | $581 |
| Median household income | $111,093 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 51 | 61 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 131−12.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 621
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $19.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 359Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 686 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 95The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 5
- Amount
- $5.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 258,852−4.7% since 2020
- Households
- 96,898
- Median age
- 40.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 60%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 445 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 595
- Median household income
- $111,093+35.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $156,435
- Median home value
- $1,027,500
- Jobs located here
- 95,587
- Daytime population
- 247,989Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 |
| 21Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA | 51 | 68 | 7.0 | $1.4M | −4.7% | #185 of 387 |
Other business types in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 preschools51
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 68 child care centers and preschools in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area. 6 of them (9%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 131 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, down 12.7% from 2019. Official counts list 359 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $95.6M a year, or $986 per household. That is 70% above the U.S. average (an index of 170, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 68 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.4M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 96,898 households in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area has 7.0 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 21% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.4M, 40% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area would have about 95, against 68 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 740 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count fell 12.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Santa Cruz-Watsonville, CA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area at 258,852 people in 2025, down 4.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 96,898 households. Median household income in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area is $111,093, 38% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 35.1%, 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area scores 51 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #185 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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 Santa Cruz-Watsonville 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.