Child care · County · Colorado
Child care centers and preschools in La Plata County, CO
How La Plata County, CO compares with other counties and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 71 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #226 of 1,611 scored counties
#16 of 25 scored counties in Colorado
- Listings
- 8
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 17
- −19.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $17.6M
- On child care and other personal services · $721 a household
- Spending per listing
- $2.2M
- 2.2 times the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.3
- 43% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 56,898
- +2.2% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in La Plata County
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 La Plata County. 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 8 child care centers and preschools in La Plata County. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.3, 43% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in La Plata County comes to about $17.6M a year: $721 per household, 24% above the U.S. average. That is about $2.2M of household spending for each center on map listings, 2.2 times the U.S. figure of $1M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in La Plata County was 17 in 2023, down 19.0% from 2019. That is one for every 1,434 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 40 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Population estimates put the population change in La Plata County from 2020 to 2025 at +2.2%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). La Plata County scores 71 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #226 of 1,611 scored counties and #16 of 25 scored counties in Colorado. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.
How La Plata County compares
The same measures for Colorado 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 | La Plata County | Colorado | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.3 | 5.0 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $2.2M | $1.6M | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,434 | 1,916 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −19.0% | +8.2% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.2% | +3.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $721 | $822 | $581 |
| Median household income | $86,056 | $95,470 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 71 | 87 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 21 → 17−19.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 134
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 40Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 80 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 18The 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 La Plata County, 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 La Plata County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 56,898+2.2% since 2020
- Households
- 24,378
- Median age
- 43.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 1,690 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 33
- Median household income
- $86,056+25.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $113,780
- Median home value
- $591,500
- Jobs located here
- 25,833
- Daytime population
- 57,893Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in La Plata County?
These figures cover the whole county. 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 La Plata County. 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 Colorado
Every Colorado market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Colorado for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Colorado, with La Plata County marked.
Top counties in Colorado
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Broomfield County, CO | 91 | 15 | 4.7 | $2.2M | +6.3% | #10 of 1,611 |
| 2Adams County, CO | 90 | 78 | 4.1 | $1.9M | +6.6% | #15 of 1,611 |
| 3Douglas County, CO | 88 | 104 | 7.4 | $1.6M | +10.9% | #21 of 1,611 |
| 4Larimer County, CO | 84 | 83 | 5.4 | $1.5M | +4.8% | #47 of 1,611 |
| 5Denver County, CO | 83 | 145 | 4.3 | $2M | +3.2% | #51 of 1,611 |
| 6Weld County, CO | 83 | 63 | 5.1 | $1.5M | +14.2% | #54 of 1,611 |
| 7Arapahoe County, CO | 81 | 136 | 5.3 | $1.6M | +2.8% | #68 of 1,611 |
| 8Pueblo County, CO | 79 | 17 | 2.5 | $2.2M | +0.6% | #91 of 1,611 |
| 9Teller County, CO | 79 | 6 | 5.1 | $1.3M | 0.0% | #100 of 1,611 |
| 10Delta County, CO | 78 | 5 | 3.9 | $1.3M | +3.6% | #117 of 1,611 |
| 16La Plata County, CO | 71 | 8 | 3.3 | $2.2M | +2.2% | #226 of 1,611 |
Other business types in La Plata County
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 La Plata County, CO?
There are 8 child care centers and preschools on map listings in La Plata County as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, down 19.0% from 2019. Official counts list 40 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in La Plata County, CO spend on child care and other personal services?
About $17.6M a year, or $721 per household. That is 24% above the U.S. average (an index of 124, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 8 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $2.2M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 24,378 households in La Plata County and national spending patterns by income.
How does La Plata County, CO compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
La Plata County has 3.3 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 43% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $2.2M, 2.2 times the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, La Plata County would have about 18, against 8 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,434 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count fell 19.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is La Plata County, CO growing?
Population estimates put La Plata County at 56,898 people in 2025, up 2.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 24,378 households. The median household income in La Plata County is $86,056 a year, 7% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.3% 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. La Plata County scores 71 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #226 of 1,611 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in La Plata County. 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 La Plata County
Screening a site or an acquisition in La Plata County?
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 La Plata County. 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.