Child care · County · Illinois
Child care centers and preschools in Mercer County, IL
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in Mercer County, IL, set against other counties and the U.S.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 4.
- Listings
- 4
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 3
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $2.6M
- On child care and other personal services · $400 a household
- Spending per listing
- $656K
- 35% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.1
- 5% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 15,229
- −2.6% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Mercer 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 Mercer County. 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 4 child care centers and preschools in Mercer County. That comes to 6.1 for every 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
At $400 per household (31% below the U.S. average), households in Mercer County spend about $2.6M a year on child care and other personal services. That is about $656K of household spending for each center on map listings, 35% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
In 2023, official counts showed 3 businesses with payroll in Mercer County classed as child care services. That is one for every 2,188 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 25 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Population estimates put the population change in Mercer County from 2020 to 2025 at −2.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. With 4 child care centers and preschools on map listings, Mercer County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.
How Mercer 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.
| Measure | Mercer County | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.1 | 5.2 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $656K | $946K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,188 | 1,605 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +4.3% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.6% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $400 | $489 | $581 |
| Median household income | $74,182 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 45 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 4 → 3
- Employees, 2023
- 19
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $601K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 25Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 40 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 3The 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 Mercer 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 Mercer County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 15,229−2.6% since 2020
- Households
- 6,565
- Median age
- 43.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 84%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 561 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 28
- Median household income
- $74,182+24.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,846
- Median home value
- $146,700
- Jobs located here
- 3,052
- Daytime population
- 11,354Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Mercer 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 Mercer County. 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 counties in Illinois for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Illinois, with Mercer County marked.
Top counties in Illinois
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Grundy County, IL | 77 | 8 | 3.9 | $1.3M | +2.9% | #130 of 1,611 |
| 2Boone County, IL | 72 | 7 | 3.6 | $1.3M | +0.4% | #212 of 1,611 |
| 3Kane County, IL | 68 | 100 | 5.4 | $1.1M | +1.8% | #316 of 1,611 |
| 4McHenry County, IL | 66 | 59 | 5.0 | $1.1M | +2.5% | #363 of 1,611 |
| 5Will County, IL | 64 | 149 | 6.1 | $970K | +2.2% | #432 of 1,611 |
| 6McLean County, IL | 61 | 31 | 4.4 | $1M | +0.1% | #513 of 1,611 |
| 7Kendall County, IL | 60 | 37 | 8.2 | $710K | +9.9% | #560 of 1,611 |
| 8Sangamon County, IL | 59 | 30 | 3.5 | $1.2M | −1.0% | #566 of 1,611 |
| 9Madison County, IL | 59 | 43 | 3.9 | $1.1M | −1.0% | #568 of 1,611 |
| 10LaSalle County, IL | 59 | 18 | 4.0 | $986K | −1.5% | #574 of 1,611 |
| Mercer County, IL | Not scored | 4 | 6.1 | $656K | −2.6% |
Other business types in Mercer County
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 preschools
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in Mercer County, IL?
There are 4 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Mercer County as of September 2026. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 25 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Mercer County, IL spend on child care and other personal services?
About $2.6M a year, or $400 per household. That is 31% below the U.S. average (an index of 69, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 4 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $656K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 6,565 households in Mercer County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Mercer County, IL compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
Mercer County has 6.1 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $656K, 35% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Mercer County would have about 3, against 4 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,188 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is Mercer County, IL growing?
Population estimates put Mercer County at 15,229 people in 2025, down 2.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 6,565 households. The median household income in Mercer County is $74,182 a year, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.1% 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. Mercer County has no market score for child care centers and preschools: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 4.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Mercer 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 Mercer County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Mercer 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 Mercer 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.