Child care · Metro area · Delaware
Child care centers and preschools in the Dover, DE metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in the Dover, DE metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 32 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #320 of 387 scored metro areas
The only scored metro area based in Delaware
- Listings
- 45
- 4 chain locations (9%)
- Official establishments
- 64
- −1.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $30.3M
- On child care and other personal services · $425 a household
- Spending per listing
- $674K
- 33% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.3
- 9% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 194,786
- +6.8% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Dover 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 Dover 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
The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Dover metro area is 32 (lower middle), #320 of 387 scored metro areas and the only scored metro area based in Delaware. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
At $425 per household (27% below the U.S. average), households in the Dover metro area spend about $30.3M a year on child care and other personal services. Spread across 45 child care centers and preschools, that is $674K per center, 33% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The Dover metro area has 45 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 9% of them, against 12% across the U.S. That is 6.3 per 10,000 households, 9% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Dover metro area was 64 in 2023, down 1.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,116 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $339K have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Dover metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Dover metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +6.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Dover metro area compares
The same measures for Delaware 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 | Dover metro area | Delaware | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.3 | 6.5 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $674K | $808K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,116 | 1,152 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −1.5% | +0.9% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.8% | +6.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $425 | $522 | $581 |
| Median household income | $74,477 | $84,954 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 32 | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 64−1.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 790
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $18.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 166Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 454 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 30The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $339K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Dover 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 Dover metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 194,786+6.8% since 2020
- Households
- 71,424
- Median age
- 39.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 586 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 320
- Median household income
- $74,477+22.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,801
- Median home value
- $316,600
- Jobs located here
- 66,799
- Daytime population
- 177,320Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Dover 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 Dover 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 Delaware
Every Delaware market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Delaware for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Delaware (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Dover metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Delaware
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD | 43 | 1,939 | 7.9 | $873K | +1.4% | #249 of 387 |
| 1Dover, DE | 32 | 45 | 6.3 | $674K | +6.8% | #320 of 387 |
Other business types in the Dover 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 preschools32
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Dover, DE metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 45 child care centers and preschools in the Dover metro area. 4 of them (9%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 64 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, down 1.5% from 2019. Another 166 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Dover, DE metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $30.3M a year, or $425 per household. That is 27% below the U.S. average (an index of 73, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 45 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $674K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 71,424 households in the Dover metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Dover, DE metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Dover metro area has 6.3 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 9% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $674K, 33% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Dover metro area would have about 30, against 45 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,116 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count fell 1.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Dover, DE metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Dover metro area at 194,786 people in 2025, up 6.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 71,424 households. Median household income in the Dover metro area is $74,477, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.3%, 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 Dover metro area scores 32 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #320 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 Dover 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 Dover metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Dover 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 Dover 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.