Groundwork

Child care · County · Florida

Child care centers and preschools in Hillsborough County, FL

How Hillsborough 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 59 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #581 of 1,611 scored counties
#29 of 56 scored counties in Florida

Listings
357
62 chain locations (17%)
Official establishments
358
+12.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$300.1M
On child care and other personal services · $515 a household
Spending per listing
$841K
16% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.1
5% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,574,115
+7.4% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Hillsborough 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 Hillsborough County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey 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 357 child care centers and preschools in Hillsborough County. Chain locations make up 17% of them, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.1, 5% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Household spending on child care and other personal services in Hillsborough County comes to about $300.1M a year: $515 per household, 11% below the U.S. average. That works out to $841K per center, 16% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

Official counts show 358 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Hillsborough County in 2023, up 12.2% from 2019. That is one for every 1,629 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 2,675 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 36 SBA-backed loans worth $45.8M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in Hillsborough County.

Population estimates show Hillsborough County grew 7.4% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For child care centers and preschools, Hillsborough County has a Groundwork market score of 59 (upper middle): #581 of 1,611 scored counties and #29 of 56 scored counties in Florida.

How Hillsborough 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.

Child care and preschools in Hillsborough County, FL compared with Florida and the U.S.
MeasureHillsborough CountyFloridaU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.15.55.8
Spending per listing$841K$866K$1M
Households per official establishment1,6291,8821,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+12.2%+6.4%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+7.4%+8.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$515$476$581
Median household income$79,540$74,568$80,734
Groundwork market score5963

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
319 → 358+12.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
5,576
Annual payroll, 2023
$156.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
2,675Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
35762 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
300The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
36
Amount
$45.8M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in Hillsborough 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 Hillsborough County

Population, 2025 estimate
1,574,115+7.4% since 2020
Households
583,192
Median age
38.9
Homes lived in by their owners
61%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
1,022 sq. mi.
People per square mile
1,490
Median household income
$79,540+35.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$112,695
Median home value
$371,500
Jobs located here
844,193
Daytime population
1,660,701Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Hillsborough 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 Hillsborough County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Child 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 Hillsborough County marked.

Top counties in Florida

Counties in Florida ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Collier County, FL92633.8$1.6M+10.6%#7 of 1,611
2Flagler County, FL9191.7$2.8M+21.0%#9 of 1,611
3Sumter County, FL90121.7$2.5M+21.1%#14 of 1,611
4Santa Rosa County, FL89273.7$1.4M+11.7%#19 of 1,611
5Walton County, FL87154.4$1.2M+22.9%#29 of 1,611
6Sarasota County, FL85904.2$1.2M+10.0%#40 of 1,611
7St. Johns County, FL84685.9$1.2M+25.0%#49 of 1,611
8Martin County, FL83284.1$1.3M+4.8%#58 of 1,611
9Charlotte County, FL83303.3$1.2M+15.5%#59 of 1,611
10Lake County, FL83593.6$1.2M+18.1%#60 of 1,611
29Hillsborough County, FL593576.1$841K+7.4%#581 of 1,611

Other business types in Hillsborough County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many child care centers and preschools are in Hillsborough County, FL?

Hillsborough County has 357 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. 62 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 358 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 12.2% from 2019. Another 2,675 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Hillsborough County, FL spend on child care and other personal services?

About $300.1M a year, or $515 per household. That is 11% below the U.S. average (an index of 89, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 357 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $841K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 583,192 households in Hillsborough County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Hillsborough County, FL compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?

Hillsborough 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 $841K, 16% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Hillsborough County would have about 300, against 357 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,629 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 12.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.

How fast is Hillsborough County, FL growing?

Population estimates put Hillsborough County at 1,574,115 people in 2025, up 7.4% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 583,192 households. The median household income in Hillsborough County is $79,540 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 35.1% 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. Hillsborough County scores 59 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #581 of 1,611 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Hillsborough 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 Hillsborough County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Hillsborough 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 Hillsborough 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.