Child care · Metro area · Florida
Child care centers and preschools in the Gainesville, FL metro area
The child care centers and preschools in the Gainesville, FL metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 40 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #268 of 387 scored metro areas
#20 of 22 scored metro areas based in Florida
- Listings
- 83
- 8 chain locations (10%)
- Official establishments
- 88
- +15.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $60.7M
- On child care and other personal services · $426 a household
- Spending per listing
- $731K
- 27% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.8
- In line with the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 359,036
- +5.4% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Gainesville 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 Gainesville 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 83 child care centers and preschools in the Gainesville metro area. Chain locations make up 10% of them, against 12% across the U.S. That is 5.8 per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Households in the Gainesville metro area spend about $60.7M a year on child care and other personal services, or $426 per household, 27% below the U.S. average. Spread across 83 child care centers and preschools, that is $731K per center, 27% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
Official counts show 88 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Gainesville metro area in 2023, up 15.8% from 2019. That is one for every 1,619 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 412 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $5.3M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Gainesville metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Gainesville metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +5.4%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For child care centers and preschools, the Gainesville metro area has a Groundwork market score of 40 (lower middle): #268 of 387 scored metro areas and #20 of 22 scored metro areas based in Florida.
How the Gainesville 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 | Gainesville metro area | Florida | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.8 | 5.5 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $731K | $866K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,619 | 1,882 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +15.8% | +6.4% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +5.4% | +8.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $426 | $476 | $581 |
| Median household income | $61,468 | $74,568 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 40 | 63 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 88+15.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,321
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $34M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 412Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 838 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 61The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 7
- Amount
- $5.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Gainesville 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 Gainesville metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 359,036+5.4% since 2020
- Households
- 142,499
- Median age
- 38.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 59%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 2,344 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 149
- Median household income
- $61,468+31.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $91,169
- Median home value
- $266,200
- Jobs located here
- 152,641
- Daytime population
- 368,793Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Gainesville 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 Gainesville 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 Gainesville 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 |
| 20Gainesville, FL | 40 | 83 | 5.8 | $731K | +5.4% | #268 of 387 |
Other business types in the Gainesville 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 preschools40
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Gainesville, FL metro area?
The Gainesville metro area has 83 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. 8 of them (10%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 88 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 15.8% from 2019. Another 412 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Gainesville, FL metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $60.7M a year, or $426 per household. That is 27% below the U.S. average (an index of 73, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 83 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $731K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 142,499 households in the Gainesville metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Gainesville, FL metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Gainesville metro area has 5.8 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, in line with the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $731K, 27% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Gainesville metro area would have about 61, against 83 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,619 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 15.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Gainesville, FL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Gainesville metro area at 359,036 people in 2025, up 5.4% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 142,499 households. The median household income in the Gainesville metro area is $61,468 a year, 24% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 31.2% 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. The Gainesville metro area scores 40 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #268 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 Gainesville 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 Gainesville metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Gainesville 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 Gainesville 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.