Child care · Metro area · Illinois
Child care centers and preschools in the Decatur, IL metro area
How the Decatur, IL metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 45 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #232 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois
- Listings
- 16
- 2 chain locations (13%)
- Official establishments
- 10
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $15.2M
- On child care and other personal services · $350 a household
- Spending per listing
- $952K
- 5% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.7
- 36% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 99,300
- −4.3% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Decatur metro 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 Decatur metro 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
Households in the Decatur metro area spend about $15.2M a year on child care and other personal services, or $350 per household, 40% below the U.S. average. Spread across 16 child care centers and preschools, that is $952K per center, 5% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The Decatur metro area has 16 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 13% of them, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.7, 36% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Decatur metro area was 10 in 2023. That is one for every 4,347 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 317 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $174K has gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Decatur metro area.
Population estimates show the Decatur metro area declined 4.3% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. For child care centers and preschools, the Decatur metro area has a Groundwork market score of 45 (lower middle): #232 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Illinois.
How the Decatur metro 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.
| Measure | Decatur metro area | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.7 | 5.2 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $952K | $946K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 4,347 | 1,605 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +4.3% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −4.3% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $350 | $489 | $581 |
| Median household income | $62,666 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 45 | 45 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 10
- Employees, 2023
- 272
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $7.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 317Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 162 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 15The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $174K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Decatur metro 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 Decatur metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 99,300−4.3% since 2020
- Households
- 43,468
- Median age
- 41.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 581 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 175
- Median household income
- $62,666+24.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $84,051
- Median home value
- $127,300
- Jobs located here
- 43,992
- Daytime population
- 103,405Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Decatur metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Decatur metro 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 Illinois
Every Illinois market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas 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 Decatur metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Illinois
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Bloomington, IL | 58 | 31 | 4.4 | $1M | +0.1% | #137 of 387 |
| 2Springfield, IL | 55 | 31 | 3.4 | $1.2M | −1.2% | #160 of 387 |
| 3Rockford, IL | 48 | 57 | 4.2 | $898K | −0.3% | #208 of 387 |
| 4Kankakee, IL | 47 | 18 | 4.4 | $919K | −1.7% | #217 of 387 |
| 5Decatur, IL | 45 | 16 | 3.7 | $952K | −4.3% | #232 of 387 |
| 6Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 43 | 2,035 | 5.6 | $953K | 0.0% | #246 of 387 |
| Cape Girardeau, MO-IL | 39 | 15 | 3.9 | $915K | +1.7% | #271 of 387 |
| St. Louis, MO-IL | 38 | 665 | 5.7 | $804K | −0.2% | #280 of 387 |
| 7Peoria, IL | 38 | 91 | 5.9 | $697K | −1.3% | #281 of 387 |
| 8Champaign-Urbana, IL | 37 | 55 | 5.6 | $731K | +1.5% | #283 of 387 |
Other business types in the Decatur metro 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 preschools45
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Decatur, IL metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 16 child care centers and preschools in the Decatur metro area. 2 of them (13%) 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. Official counts list 317 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Decatur, IL metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $15.2M a year, or $350 per household. That is 40% below the U.S. average (an index of 60, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 16 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $952K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 43,468 households in the Decatur metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Decatur, IL metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Decatur metro area has 3.7 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 36% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $952K, 5% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Decatur metro area would have about 15, against 16 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 4,347 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Decatur, IL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Decatur metro area at 99,300 people in 2025, down 4.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 43,468 households. Median household income in the Decatur metro area is $62,666, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.1%, 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. The Decatur metro area scores 45 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #232 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Decatur metro 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 Decatur metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Decatur metro 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 Decatur metro 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.