Groundwork

Child care · Small-town market · Illinois

Child care centers and preschools in the Centralia, IL area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in the Centralia, IL area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 19 out of 100: Low

Ranked #424 of 454 scored small-town markets
#14 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Illinois

Listings
10
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
10
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$5M
On child care and other personal services · $320 a household
Spending per listing
$496K
50% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.4
10% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
36,382
−3.4% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Centralia 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 Centralia 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

For child care centers and preschools, the Centralia area has a Groundwork market score of 19 (low): #424 of 454 scored small-town markets and #14 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Households in the Centralia area spend about $5M a year on child care and other personal services, or $320 per household, 45% below the U.S. average. That is about $496K of household spending for each center on map listings, 50% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

There are 10 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Centralia area as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That is 6.4 per 10,000 households, 10% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Centralia area in 2023. That is one for every 1,551 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $325K has gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Centralia area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Centralia area declined 3.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Centralia area compares

The same measures for Illinois 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 Centralia, IL area compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureCentralia areaIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.45.25.8
Spending per listing$496K$946K$1M
Households per official establishment1,5511,6051,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+4.3%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.4%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$320$489$581
Median household income$61,240$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score1945

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
10
Employees, 2023
107
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
66Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
100 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
5The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$325K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Centralia 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 Centralia area

Population, 2025 estimate
36,382−3.4% since 2020
Households
15,512
Median age
41.1
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
573 sq. mi.
People per square mile
65
Median household income
$61,240+28.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$77,168
Median home value
$103,000
Jobs located here
13,082
Daytime population
33,907Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Child care and preschools across Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Illinois for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Illinois (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Centralia area marked.

Top small-town markets in Illinois

Small-town markets in Illinois ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Ottawa, IL71203.2$1.2M−1.6%#67 of 454
2Rochelle, IL63104.8$850K−0.7%#124 of 454
3Carbondale, IL6062.6$1.2M−1.5%#141 of 454
4Marion-Herrin, IL60124.1$874K+0.2%#146 of 454
5Quincy, IL-MO46185.8$601K−2.0%#271 of 454
6Dixon, IL4375.2$725K−3.4%#289 of 454
7Taylorville, IL4375.2$652K−1.5%#294 of 454
8Danville, IL42113.7$864K−3.7%#300 of 454
9Charleston-Mattoon, IL3594.3$735K−1.0%#350 of 454
Burlington, IA-IL35115.5$593K−2.5%#353 of 454
14Centralia, IL19106.4$496K−3.4%#424 of 454

Other business types in the Centralia 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 Centralia, IL area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 10 child care centers and preschools in the Centralia area. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 66 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $5M a year, or $320 per household. That is 45% below the U.S. average (an index of 55, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $496K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,512 households in the Centralia area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Centralia area has 6.4 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 10% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $496K, 50% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Centralia area would have about 5, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,551 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is the Centralia, IL area growing?

Population estimates put the Centralia area at 36,382 people in 2025, down 3.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 15,512 households. Median household income in the Centralia area is $61,240, 24% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.9%, 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 Centralia area scores 19 for child care centers and preschools (low), #424 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 Centralia 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 Centralia area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Centralia 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 Centralia 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.