Groundwork

Child care · Small-town market · Georgia

Child care centers and preschools in the Cordele, GA area

How the Cordele, GA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 30 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #382 of 454 scored small-town markets
#17 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Georgia

Listings
6
1 chain location (17%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$2.7M
On child care and other personal services · $340 a household
Spending per listing
$449K
55% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.6
31% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
19,237
−4.1% since 2020

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

The Cordele area scores 30 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #382 of 454 scored small-town markets and #17 of 20 scored small-town markets based in Georgia. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

As of September 2026, map listings count 6 child care centers and preschools in the Cordele area. One of them (17%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. That is 7.6 per 10,000 households, 31% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Households in the Cordele area spend about $2.7M a year on child care and other personal services, or $340 per household, 41% below the U.S. average. That works out to $449K per center, 55% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Cordele area was 3 in 2023. That is one for every 2,636 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Cordele area from 2020 to 2025 at −4.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Cordele area compares

The same measures for Georgia 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 Cordele, GA area compared with Georgia and the U.S.
MeasureCordele areaGeorgiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.65.65.8
Spending per listing$449K$888K$1M
Households per official establishment2,6361,6641,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.6%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−4.1%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$340$496$581
Median household income$45,105$77,353$80,734
Groundwork market score3057

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3
Employees, 2023
34
Annual payroll, 2023
$586K
One-person businesses, 2023
73Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
61 chain location
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 the Cordele 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 Cordele area

Population, 2025 estimate
19,237−4.1% since 2020
Households
7,908
Median age
40.7
Homes lived in by their owners
56%
Vehicles per household
1.6
Land area
273 sq. mi.
People per square mile
73
Median household income
$45,105+25.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$68,845
Median home value
$140,200
Jobs located here
8,405
Daytime population
20,304Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Child care and preschools across Georgia

Every Georgia market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Georgia for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Georgia, with the Cordele area marked.

Top small-town markets in Georgia

Small-town markets in Georgia ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Jefferson, GA8793.2$1.7M+29.3%#6 of 454
2Calhoun, GA8183.7$1.1M+6.9%#16 of 454
3Cornelia, GA7463.6$1.1M+9.3%#49 of 454
4Kingsland, GA7383.7$1.1M+9.5%#53 of 454
5Statesboro, GA59154.3$859K+8.0%#159 of 454
6Cedartown, GA5895.7$628K+6.0%#169 of 454
7Toccoa, GA5554.8$651K+3.8%#192 of 454
8Waycross, GA52104.9$665K+3.0%#217 of 454
9Douglas, GA4884.3$768K+2.9%#243 of 454
10Thomaston, GA4865.7$642K+2.7%#248 of 454
17Cordele, GA3067.6$449K−4.1%#382 of 454

Other business types in the Cordele area

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

Questions

How many child care centers and preschools are in the Cordele, GA area?

The Cordele area has 6 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (17%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 73 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Cordele, GA area spend on child care and other personal services?

About $2.7M a year, or $340 per household. That is 41% below the U.S. average (an index of 59, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 6 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $449K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 7,908 households in the Cordele area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Cordele, GA area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?

The Cordele area has 7.6 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 31% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $449K, 55% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Cordele area would have about 3, against 6 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,636 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is the Cordele, GA area growing?

Population estimates put the Cordele area at 19,237 people in 2025, down 4.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 7,908 households. The median household income in the Cordele area is $45,105 a year, 44% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.2% 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. 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 Cordele area scores 30 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #382 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 Cordele 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 Cordele area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Cordele 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 Cordele 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.