Groundwork

Child care · County · Illinois

Child care centers and preschools in Kankakee County, IL

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 52 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #768 of 1,611 scored counties
#15 of 43 scored counties in Illinois

Listings
18
6 chain locations (33%)
Official establishments
16
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$16.5M
On child care and other personal services · $403 a household
Spending per listing
$919K
8% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.4
24% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
105,525
−1.7% since 2020

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

Household spending on child care and other personal services in Kankakee County comes to about $16.5M a year: $403 per household, 31% below the U.S. average. That is about $919K of household spending for each center on map listings, 8% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

Kankakee County has 18 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. 6 of them (33%) are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 4.4, 24% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 16 businesses with payroll in Kankakee County classed as child care services. That is one for every 2,562 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 295 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Population estimates put the population change in Kankakee County from 2020 to 2025 at −1.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Kankakee County scores 52 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #768 of 1,611 scored counties and #15 of 43 scored counties in Illinois.

How Kankakee 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 Kankakee County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureKankakee CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.45.25.8
Spending per listing$919K$946K$1M
Households per official establishment2,5621,6051,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+4.3%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.7%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$403$489$581
Median household income$71,281$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score5245

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
17 → 16
Employees, 2023
299
Annual payroll, 2023
$9.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
295Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
186 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
17The 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 Kankakee 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 Kankakee County

Population, 2025 estimate
105,525−1.7% since 2020
Households
40,996
Median age
39.8
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
677 sq. mi.
People per square mile
158
Median household income
$71,281+21.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$94,302
Median home value
$192,600
Jobs located here
41,664
Daytime population
98,238Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Kankakee 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 Kankakee 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 Illinois

Every Illinois market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Illinois for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Illinois, with Kankakee 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
15Kankakee County, IL52184.4$919K−1.7%#768 of 1,611

Other business types in Kankakee 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 Kankakee County, IL?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 18 child care centers and preschools in Kankakee County. 6 of them (33%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 16 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 295 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $16.5M a year, or $403 per household. That is 31% below the U.S. average (an index of 69, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 18 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $919K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 40,996 households in Kankakee County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Kankakee County has 4.4 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 24% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $919K, 8% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Kankakee County would have about 17, against 18 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,562 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is Kankakee County, IL growing?

Population estimates put Kankakee County at 105,525 people in 2025, down 1.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 40,996 households. Median household income in Kankakee County is $71,281, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 21.0%, 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. Kankakee County scores 52 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #768 of 1,611 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Kankakee 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 Kankakee 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.