Child care · Small-town market · Florida
Child care centers and preschools in the Palatka, FL area
The child care centers and preschools in the Palatka, FL area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 48 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #242 of 454 scored small-town markets
#3 of 6 scored small-town markets based in Florida
- Listings
- 13
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 20
- −16.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $10M
- On child care and other personal services · $319 a household
- Spending per listing
- $770K
- 23% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.1
- 29% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 77,734
- +5.9% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Palatka 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 Palatka 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 13 child care centers and preschools in the Palatka area. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 4.1 for every 10,000 households, 29% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Palatka area comes to about $10M a year: $319 per household, 45% below the U.S. average. That is about $770K of household spending for each center on map listings, 23% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
Official counts show 20 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Palatka area in 2023, down 16.7% from 2019. That is one for every 1,568 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 208 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates show the Palatka area grew 5.9% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For child care centers and preschools, the Palatka area has a Groundwork market score of 48 (lower middle): #242 of 454 scored small-town markets and #3 of 6 scored small-town markets based in Florida.
How the Palatka 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 | Palatka area | Florida | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.1 | 5.5 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $770K | $866K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,568 | 1,882 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −16.7% | +6.4% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +5.9% | +8.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $319 | $476 | $581 |
| Median household income | $47,934 | $74,568 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 48 | 63 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 20−16.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 205
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $5.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 208Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 130 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 10The 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 the Palatka 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 Palatka area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 77,734+5.9% since 2020
- Households
- 31,360
- Median age
- 44.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 728 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 103
- Median household income
- $47,934+27.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $68,007
- Median home value
- $160,300
- Jobs located here
- 17,308
- Daytime population
- 63,587Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Palatka area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Palatka 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 small-town markets in Florida for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Florida, with the Palatka area marked.
Top small-town markets in Florida
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Key West-Key Largo, FL | 69 | 16 | 4.7 | $1.2M | −2.9% | #79 of 454 |
| 2Okeechobee, FL | 52 | 8 | 5.3 | $646K | +7.4% | #219 of 454 |
| 3Palatka, FL | 48 | 13 | 4.1 | $770K | +5.9% | #242 of 454 |
| 4Clewiston, FL | 43 | 11 | 5.9 | $612K | +18.8% | #296 of 454 |
| 5Lake City, FL | 38 | 20 | 7.3 | $498K | +6.2% | #331 of 454 |
| 6Arcadia, FL | 34 | 7 | 5.5 | $546K | +8.8% | #360 of 454 |
Other business types in the Palatka 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 preschools48
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Palatka, FL area?
The Palatka area has 13 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 20 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, down 16.7% from 2019. Official counts also show 208 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Palatka, FL area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $10M a year, or $319 per household. That is 45% below the U.S. average (an index of 55, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 13 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $770K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 31,360 households in the Palatka area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Palatka, FL area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Palatka area has 4.1 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 29% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $770K, 23% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Palatka area would have about 10, against 13 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,568 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count fell 16.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Palatka, FL area growing?
Population estimates put the Palatka area at 77,734 people in 2025, up 5.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 31,360 households. The median household income in the Palatka area is $47,934 a year, 41% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 27.3% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Palatka area scores 48 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #242 of 454 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Palatka 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 Palatka area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Palatka 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 Palatka 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.