Groundwork

Child care · County · Illinois

Child care centers and preschools in Clay County, IL

How Clay County, IL compares with other counties and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has none.

Listings
0
None on the map
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$1.7M
On child care and other personal services · $324 a household
Spending per listing
n/a
Listings per 10k households
0.0
Population, 2025
12,793
−3.6% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Clay 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 Clay County. 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

There are no child care centers and preschools on map listings in Clay County as of September 2026. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Clay County would have about 2, against none on map listings.

At $324 per household (44% below the U.S. average), households in Clay County spend about $1.7M a year on child care and other personal services.

There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Clay County: counts under 3 aren’t published. Official counts also show 33 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show Clay County declined 3.6% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. With no child care centers and preschools on map listings, Clay County isn’t given a market score for them.

How Clay County 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 Clay County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureClay CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households0.05.25.8
Spending per listingn/a$946K$1M
Households per official establishmentn/a1,6051,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+4.3%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.6%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$324$489$581
Median household income$60,417$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored45

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
n/a
Employees, 2023
n/a
Annual payroll, 2023
n/a
One-person businesses, 2023
33Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
0
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2The 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 Clay 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 Clay County

Population, 2025 estimate
12,793−3.6% since 2020
Households
5,311
Median age
41.5
Homes lived in by their owners
79%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
468 sq. mi.
People per square mile
28
Median household income
$60,417+24.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$78,530
Median home value
$97,400
Jobs located here
4,511
Daytime population
12,012Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Clay 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 Clay County. 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 Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Illinois for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Illinois, with Clay County marked.

Top counties in Illinois

Counties in Illinois ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Grundy County, IL7783.9$1.3M+2.9%#130 of 1,611
2Boone County, IL7273.6$1.3M+0.4%#212 of 1,611
3Kane County, IL681005.4$1.1M+1.8%#316 of 1,611
4McHenry County, IL66595.0$1.1M+2.5%#363 of 1,611
5Will County, IL641496.1$970K+2.2%#432 of 1,611
6McLean County, IL61314.4$1M+0.1%#513 of 1,611
7Kendall County, IL60378.2$710K+9.9%#560 of 1,611
8Sangamon County, IL59303.5$1.2M−1.0%#566 of 1,611
9Madison County, IL59433.9$1.1M−1.0%#568 of 1,611
10LaSalle County, IL59184.0$986K−1.5%#574 of 1,611
Clay County, ILNot scored00.0n/a−3.6%

Other business types in Clay 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 Clay County, IL?

Map listings as of September 2026 show no child care centers and preschools in Clay County. The listings count day care centers and preschools. No official count is published for child care services in Clay County: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts list 33 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $1.7M a year, or $324 per household. That is 44% below the U.S. average (an index of 56, where 100 is the U.S. average). It is estimated from the incomes of the 5,311 households in Clay County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Clay County has no child care centers and preschools on map listings. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Clay County would have about 2, against none on map listings.

How fast is Clay County, IL growing?

Population estimates put Clay County at 12,793 people in 2025, down 3.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 5,311 households. The median household income in Clay County is $60,417 a year, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.6% 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. Clay County has no market score for child care centers and preschools, having none on map listings.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Clay 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 Clay 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.