Groundwork

Child care · County · Illinois

Child care centers and preschools in McDonough County, IL

The child care centers and preschools in McDonough County, IL, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 3.

Listings
3
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
4
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$3.7M
On child care and other personal services · $311 a household
Spending per listing
$1.2M
23% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
2.5
57% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
25,916
−4.5% since 2020

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

At $311 per household (46% below the U.S. average), households in McDonough County spend about $3.7M a year on child care and other personal services. That works out to $1.2M per center, 23% above the U.S. figure of $1M.

There are 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings in McDonough County as of September 2026. That is 2.5 per 10,000 households, 57% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 4 businesses with payroll in McDonough County classed as child care services. That is one for every 2,964 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 51 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Population estimates show McDonough County declined 4.5% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. With 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings, McDonough County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.

How McDonough 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 McDonough County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureMcDonough CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households2.55.25.8
Spending per listing$1.2M$946K$1M
Households per official establishment2,9641,6051,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+4.3%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−4.5%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$311$489$581
Median household income$52,795$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored45

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4 → 4
Employees, 2023
107
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
51Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
30 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
4The 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 McDonough 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 McDonough County

Population, 2025 estimate
25,916−4.5% since 2020
Households
11,856
Median age
38.4
Homes lived in by their owners
63%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
589 sq. mi.
People per square mile
46
Median household income
$52,795+18.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$71,521
Median home value
$107,500
Jobs located here
9,784
Daytime population
25,631Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in McDonough 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 McDonough 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 McDonough 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
McDonough County, ILNot scored32.5$1.2M−4.5%

Other business types in McDonough 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 McDonough County, IL?

As of September 2026, map listings count 3 child care centers and preschools in McDonough County. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 51 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $3.7M a year, or $311 per household. That is 46% below the U.S. average (an index of 54, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.2M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 11,856 households in McDonough County and national spending patterns by income.

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

McDonough County has 2.5 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 57% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.2M, 23% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, McDonough County would have about 4, against 3 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,964 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is McDonough County, IL growing?

Population estimates put McDonough County at 25,916 people in 2025, down 4.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 11,856 households. Median household income in McDonough County is $52,795, 35% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 18.7%, 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. McDonough County has no market score for child care centers and preschools: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 3.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in McDonough 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 McDonough 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.