Child care · Small-town market · California
Child care centers and preschools in the Ukiah, CA area
How the Ukiah, CA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 52 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #212 of 454 scored small-town markets
#4 of 6 scored small-town markets based in California
- Listings
- 23
- 1 chain location (4%)
- Official establishments
- 22
- +4.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $21M
- On child care and other personal services · $601 a household
- Spending per listing
- $911K
- 9% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.6
- 14% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 88,122
- −3.5% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Ukiah 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 Ukiah 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
At $601 per household (4% above the U.S. average), households in the Ukiah area spend about $21M a year on child care and other personal services. That works out to $911K per center, 9% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
There are 23 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Ukiah area as of September 2026. One of them (4%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. That is 6.6 per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 22 businesses with payroll in the Ukiah area classed as child care services, up 4.8% from 2019. That is one for every 1,584 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 136 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in the Ukiah area from 2020 to 2025 at −3.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For child care centers and preschools, the Ukiah area has a Groundwork market score of 52 (upper middle): #212 of 454 scored small-town markets and #4 of 6 scored small-town markets based in California.
How the Ukiah 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 | Ukiah area | California | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.6 | 6.8 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $911K | $1.3M | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,584 | 1,401 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +4.8% | +8.1% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.5% | −0.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $601 | $886 | $581 |
| Median household income | $68,092 | $99,122 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 52 | 61 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 22+4.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 128
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 136Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 231 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 21The 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 Ukiah 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 Ukiah area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 88,122−3.5% since 2020
- Households
- 34,842
- Median age
- 44.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 3,507 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 26
- Median household income
- $68,092+32.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $95,438
- Median home value
- $512,200
- Jobs located here
- 29,495
- Daytime population
- 87,475Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ukiah 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 Ukiah 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 Ukiah 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 Ukiah 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 preschools52
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Ukiah, CA area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 23 child care centers and preschools in the Ukiah area. One of them (4%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 22 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 4.8% from 2019. Another 136 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Ukiah, CA area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $21M a year, or $601 per household. That is 4% above the U.S. average (an index of 104, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 23 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $911K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 34,842 households in the Ukiah area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ukiah, CA area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Ukiah area has 6.6 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $911K, 9% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Ukiah area would have about 21, against 23 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,584 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 4.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Ukiah, CA area growing?
Population estimates put the Ukiah area at 88,122 people in 2025, down 3.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 34,842 households. Median household income in the Ukiah area is $68,092, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 32.4%, 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 Ukiah area scores 52 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #212 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 Ukiah 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 Ukiah area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ukiah 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 Ukiah 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.