Child care · County · Florida
Child care centers and preschools in Hardee County, FL
How Hardee County, FL 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 26 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,403 of 1,611 scored counties
#52 of 56 scored counties in Florida
- Listings
- 5
- 2 chain locations (40%)
- Official establishments
- 12
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $3M
- On child care and other personal services · $369 a household
- Spending per listing
- $606K
- 40% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.1
- 5% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 25,932
- +2.4% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Hardee 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 Hardee 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
For child care centers and preschools, Hardee County has a Groundwork market score of 26 (lower middle): #1,403 of 1,611 scored counties and #52 of 56 scored counties in Florida. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in Hardee County comes to about $3M a year: $369 per household, 37% below the U.S. average. That works out to $606K per center, 40% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
Hardee County has 5 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 2 are chain locations, or 40%, against 12% across the U.S. That is 6.1 per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 12 businesses with payroll in Hardee County classed as child care services. That is one for every 685 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in Hardee County from 2020 to 2025 at +2.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How Hardee County 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 | Hardee County | Florida | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.1 | 5.5 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $606K | $866K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 685 | 1,882 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +6.4% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.4% | +8.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $369 | $476 | $581 |
| Median household income | $60,489 | $74,568 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 26 | 63 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 15 → 12
- Employees, 2023
- 170
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 54Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 52 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 3The 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 Hardee 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 Hardee County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 25,932+2.4% since 2020
- Households
- 8,219
- Median age
- 35.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 638 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 40
- Median household income
- $60,489+56.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $84,981
- Median home value
- $153,600
- Jobs located here
- 6,991
- Daytime population
- 22,490Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Hardee 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 Hardee 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 Florida
Every Florida market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Florida for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Florida, with Hardee County marked.
Top counties in Florida
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Collier County, FL | 92 | 63 | 3.8 | $1.6M | +10.6% | #7 of 1,611 |
| 2Flagler County, FL | 91 | 9 | 1.7 | $2.8M | +21.0% | #9 of 1,611 |
| 3Sumter County, FL | 90 | 12 | 1.7 | $2.5M | +21.1% | #14 of 1,611 |
| 4Santa Rosa County, FL | 89 | 27 | 3.7 | $1.4M | +11.7% | #19 of 1,611 |
| 5Walton County, FL | 87 | 15 | 4.4 | $1.2M | +22.9% | #29 of 1,611 |
| 6Sarasota County, FL | 85 | 90 | 4.2 | $1.2M | +10.0% | #40 of 1,611 |
| 7St. Johns County, FL | 84 | 68 | 5.9 | $1.2M | +25.0% | #49 of 1,611 |
| 8Martin County, FL | 83 | 28 | 4.1 | $1.3M | +4.8% | #58 of 1,611 |
| 9Charlotte County, FL | 83 | 30 | 3.3 | $1.2M | +15.5% | #59 of 1,611 |
| 10Lake County, FL | 83 | 59 | 3.6 | $1.2M | +18.1% | #60 of 1,611 |
| 52Hardee County, FL | 26 | 5 | 6.1 | $606K | +2.4% | #1,403 of 1,611 |
Other business types in Hardee 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 preschools26
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in Hardee County, FL?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 5 child care centers and preschools in Hardee County. 2 of them (40%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 54 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Hardee County, FL spend on child care and other personal services?
About $3M a year, or $369 per household. That is 37% below the U.S. average (an index of 63, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $606K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,219 households in Hardee County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Hardee County, FL compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
Hardee County has 6.1 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $606K, 40% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Hardee County would have about 3, against 5 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 685 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is Hardee County, FL growing?
Population estimates put Hardee County at 25,932 people in 2025, up 2.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 8,219 households. Median household income in Hardee County is $60,489, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 56.4%, 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. Hardee County scores 26 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #1,403 of 1,611 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Hardee 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 Hardee County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Hardee 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 Hardee 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.