Child care · Metro area · District of Columbia
Child care centers and preschools in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area
How the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV 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 58 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #138 of 387 scored metro areas
The only scored metro area based in the District of Columbia
- Listings
- 1,804
- 229 chain locations (13%)
- Official establishments
- 1,849
- +1.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.9B
- On child care and other personal services · $789 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1M
- 4% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.6
- 31% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 6,465,724
- +3.3% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,804 child care centers and preschools in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area. Chain locations make up 13% of them, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 7.6, 31% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area comes to about $1.9B a year: $789 per household, 36% above the U.S. average. Spread across 1,804 child care centers and preschools, that is $1M per center, 4% above the U.S. figure of $1M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area was 1,849 in 2023, up 1.0% from 2019. That is one for every 1,283 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 11,878 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 117 SBA-backed loans worth $97M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area grew 3.3%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area is 58 (upper middle), #138 of 387 scored metro areas and the only scored metro area based in the District of Columbia.
How the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area compares
The same measures for District of Columbia 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 | Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area | District of Columbia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.6 | 6.3 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1M | $1.2M | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,283 | 1,071 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +1.0% | +4.8% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.3% | +3.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $789 | $740 | $581 |
| Median household income | $126,684 | $109,870 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 58 | 61 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 1,849+1.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 25,319
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $859.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 11,878Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1,804229 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 1,868The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 117
- Amount
- $97M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 6,465,724+3.3% since 2020
- Households
- 2,373,022
- Median age
- 39.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 64%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 6,034 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 1,047
- Median household income
- $126,684
- Average household income
- $166,652
- Median home value
- $579,900
- Jobs located here
- 3,140,160
- Daytime population
- 6,505,668Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardOther business types in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 preschools58
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area?
There are 1,804 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area as of September 2026. 229 of them (13%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 1,849 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 1.0% from 2019. Official counts list 11,878 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $1.9B a year, or $789 per household. That is 36% above the U.S. average (an index of 136, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,804 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,373,022 households in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area has 7.6 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 31% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1M, 4% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area would have about 1,868, against 1,804 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,283 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 1.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area at 6,465,724 people in 2025, up 3.3% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,373,022 households. The median household income in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area is $126,684 a year, 57% above the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area scores 58 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #138 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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 Washington-Arlington-Alexandria 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.