Child care · Small-town market · California
Child care centers and preschools in the Sonora, CA area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in the Sonora, CA area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 71 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #69 of 454 scored small-town markets
#1 of 6 scored small-town markets based in California
- Listings
- 14
- 1 chain location (7%)
- Official establishments
- 6
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $15M
- On child care and other personal services · $660 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.1M
- 7% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.2
- 7% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 53,160
- −4.0% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Sonora 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 Sonora 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 14 child care centers and preschools in the Sonora area. One of them (7%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. That is 6.2 per 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
At $660 per household (14% above the U.S. average), households in the Sonora area spend about $15M a year on child care and other personal services. That is about $1.1M of household spending for each center on map listings, 7% above the U.S. figure of $1M.
In 2023, official counts showed 6 businesses with payroll in the Sonora area classed as child care services. That is one for every 3,782 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 68 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Sonora area declined 4.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Sonora area scores 71 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #69 of 454 scored small-town markets and #1 of 6 scored small-town markets based in California. That puts it in the top quarter of small-town markets.
How the Sonora 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 | Sonora area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.2 | 6.8 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.1M | $1.3M | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 3,782 | 1,401 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +8.1% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.0% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $660 | $886 | $581 |
| Median household income | $77,404 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 71 | 61 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 6
- Employees, 2023
- 46
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 68Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 141 chain location
- 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 Sonora 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 Sonora area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 53,160−4.0% since 2020
- Households
- 22,690
- Median age
- 48.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 2,221 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 25
- Median household income
- $77,404+28.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $104,064
- Median home value
- $433,200
- Jobs located here
- 16,129
- Daytime population
- 40,598Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Sonora 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 Sonora 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 Sonora 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 Sonora 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 preschools71
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Sonora, CA area?
There are 14 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Sonora area as of September 2026. One of them (7%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts also show 68 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Sonora, CA area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $15M a year, or $660 per household. That is 14% above the U.S. average (an index of 114, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.1M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 22,690 households in the Sonora area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Sonora, CA area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Sonora area has 6.2 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.1M, 7% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Sonora area would have about 15, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,782 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Sonora, CA area growing?
Population estimates put the Sonora area at 53,160 people in 2025, down 4.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 22,690 households. The median household income in the Sonora area is $77,404 a year, 4% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.8% 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 Sonora area scores 71 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #69 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 Sonora 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 Sonora area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sonora 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 Sonora 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.