Groundwork

Child care · County · Florida

Child care centers and preschools in Palm Beach County, FL

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in Palm Beach County, FL, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 73 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #199 of 1,611 scored counties
#16 of 56 scored counties in Florida

Listings
308
55 chain locations (18%)
Official establishments
299
+10.7% since 2019
Household spending a year
$335.4M
On child care and other personal services · $554 a household
Spending per listing
$1.1M
9% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.1
12% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
1,575,726
+5.5% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Palm Beach 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 Palm Beach 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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 308 child care centers and preschools in Palm Beach County. Chain locations make up 18% of them, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 5.1 for every 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Household spending on child care and other personal services in Palm Beach County comes to about $335.4M a year: $554 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. That works out to $1.1M per center, 9% above the U.S. figure of $1M.

In 2023, official counts showed 299 businesses with payroll in Palm Beach County classed as child care services, up 10.7% from 2019. That is one for every 2,025 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 2,186 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 48 SBA-backed loans worth $61.1M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in Palm Beach County.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Palm Beach County grew 5.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For child care centers and preschools, Palm Beach County has a Groundwork market score of 73 (upper middle): #199 of 1,611 scored counties and #16 of 56 scored counties in Florida. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Palm Beach 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 Palm Beach County, FL compared with Florida and the U.S.
MeasurePalm Beach CountyFloridaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.15.55.8
Spending per listing$1.1M$866K$1M
Households per official establishment2,0251,8821,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+10.7%+6.4%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.5%+8.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$554$476$581
Median household income$83,581$74,568$80,734
Groundwork market score7363

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
270 → 299+10.7% over the period
Employees, 2023
4,558
Annual payroll, 2023
$154.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
2,186Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
30855 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
335The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
48
Amount
$61.1M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
1,575,726+5.5% since 2020
Households
605,430
Median age
45.7
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
1,964 sq. mi.
People per square mile
781
Median household income
$83,581+32.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$128,577
Median home value
$447,300
Jobs located here
678,049
Daytime population
1,576,309Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Palm Beach 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 Palm Beach 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 Palm Beach 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
16Palm Beach County, FL733085.1$1.1M+5.5%#199 of 1,611

Other business types in Palm Beach 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 Palm Beach County, FL?

There are 308 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Palm Beach County as of September 2026. 55 of them (18%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 299 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 10.7% from 2019. Official counts also show 2,186 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $335.4M a year, or $554 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 308 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.1M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 605,430 households in Palm Beach County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Palm Beach County has 5.1 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.1M, 9% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Palm Beach County would have about 335, against 308 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,025 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 10.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.

How fast is Palm Beach County, FL growing?

Population estimates put Palm Beach County at 1,575,726 people in 2025, up 5.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 605,430 households. The median household income in Palm Beach County is $83,581 a year, 4% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.0% 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. Palm Beach County scores 73 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #199 of 1,611 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Palm Beach 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 Palm Beach County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Palm Beach 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 Palm Beach 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.