Child care · Metro area · Florida
Child care centers and preschools in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL metro area
How the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL 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 78 out of 100: High
Ranked #26 of 387 scored metro areas
#7 of 22 scored metro areas based in Florida
- Listings
- 143
- 24 chain locations (17%)
- Official establishments
- 120
- +23.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $154.8M
- On child care and other personal services · $472 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.1M
- 8% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.4
- 24% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 875,607
- +14.4% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers 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 Cape Coral-Fort Myers 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
For child care centers and preschools, the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area has a Groundwork market score of 78 (high): #26 of 387 scored metro areas and #7 of 22 scored metro areas based in Florida. That puts it in the top 10% of metro areas for child care centers and preschools.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area comes to about $154.8M a year: $472 per household, 19% below the U.S. average. That works out to $1.1M per center, 8% above the U.S. figure of $1M.
The Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area has 143 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 24 are chain locations, or 17%, against 12% across the U.S. That is 4.4 per 10,000 households, 24% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Official counts show 120 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area in 2023, up 23.7% from 2019. That is one for every 2,732 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 13 SBA-backed loans worth $14.7M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area. Population estimates show the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area grew 14.4% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area compares
The same measures for Florida 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 | Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area | Florida | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.4 | 5.5 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.1M | $866K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,732 | 1,882 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +23.7% | +6.4% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +14.4% | +8.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $472 | $476 | $581 |
| Median household income | $76,107 | $74,568 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 78 | 63 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 120+23.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,632
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $43.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 830Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 14324 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 155The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 13
- Amount
- $14.7M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers 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 Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 875,607+14.4% since 2020
- Households
- 327,803
- Median age
- 48.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 781 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 1,047
- Median household income
- $76,107+31.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $106,469
- Median home value
- $362,200
- Jobs located here
- 293,056
- Daytime population
- 793,827Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers 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 Cape Coral-Fort Myers 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 Florida
Every Florida market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Florida for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Florida, with the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Florida
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Naples-Marco Island, FL | 91 | 63 | 3.8 | $1.6M | +10.6% | #4 of 387 |
| 2Wildwood-The Villages, FL | 88 | 12 | 1.7 | $2.5M | +21.1% | #6 of 387 |
| 3North Port-Bradenton-Sarasota, FL | 81 | 171 | 4.4 | $1.2M | +13.2% | #18 of 387 |
| 4Punta Gorda, FL | 80 | 30 | 3.3 | $1.2M | +15.5% | #20 of 387 |
| 5Sebastian-Vero Beach-West Vero Corridor, FL | 79 | 27 | 3.8 | $1.2M | +7.7% | #23 of 387 |
| 6Palm Bay-Melbourne-Titusville, FL | 79 | 106 | 4.1 | $1.2M | +9.1% | #24 of 387 |
| 7Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL | 78 | 143 | 4.4 | $1.1M | +14.4% | #26 of 387 |
| 8Crestview-Fort Walton Beach-Destin, FL | 74 | 63 | 5.3 | $976K | +9.4% | #39 of 387 |
| 9Pensacola-Ferry Pass-Brent, FL | 72 | 85 | 4.2 | $1.1M | +6.5% | #48 of 387 |
| 10Port St. Lucie, FL | 69 | 103 | 5.0 | $916K | +16.0% | #62 of 387 |
Other business types in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers 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 preschools78
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 143 child care centers and preschools in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area. 24 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 120 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 23.7% from 2019. Official counts also show 830 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $154.8M a year, or $472 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 143 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.1M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 327,803 households in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area has 4.4 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 24% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.1M, 8% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area would have about 155, against 143 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,732 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 23.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Cape Coral-Fort Myers, FL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area at 875,607 people in 2025, up 14.4% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 327,803 households. Median household income in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area is $76,107, 6% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 31.6%, 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 Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area scores 78 for child care centers and preschools (high), #26 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 Cape Coral-Fort Myers 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 Cape Coral-Fort Myers metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Cape Coral-Fort Myers 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 Cape Coral-Fort Myers 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.