Groundwork

Child care · County · Illinois

Child care centers and preschools in Rock Island County, IL

How Rock Island 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 · out of 100

Score 34 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,239 of 1,611 scored counties
#35 of 43 scored counties in Illinois

Listings
30
3 chain locations (10%)
Official establishments
36
+12.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$22.4M
On child care and other personal services · $362 a household
Spending per listing
$745K
26% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.9
16% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
141,869
−1.7% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Rock Island 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 Rock Island 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

For child care centers and preschools, Rock Island County has a Groundwork market score of 34 (lower middle): #1,239 of 1,611 scored counties and #35 of 43 scored counties in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

Household spending on child care and other personal services in Rock Island County comes to about $22.4M a year: $362 per household, 38% below the U.S. average. Spread across 30 child care centers and preschools, that is $745K per center, 26% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

Rock Island County has 30 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 3 are chain locations, or 10%, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 4.9, 16% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Official counts show 36 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Rock Island County in 2023, up 12.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,715 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $1.3M has gone to businesses classed as child care services in Rock Island County. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Rock Island County declined 1.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Rock Island 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 Rock Island County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureRock Island CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.95.25.8
Spending per listing$745K$946K$1M
Households per official establishment1,7151,6051,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+12.5%+4.3%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.7%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$362$489$581
Median household income$67,159$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market score3445

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
32 → 36+12.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
526
Annual payroll, 2023
$17.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
311Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
303 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
22The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
1
Amount
$1.3M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in Rock Island 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 Rock Island County

Population, 2025 estimate
141,869−1.7% since 2020
Households
61,733
Median age
40.9
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
428 sq. mi.
People per square mile
334
Median household income
$67,159+22.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$85,299
Median home value
$150,400
Jobs located here
67,505
Daytime population
147,154Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Rock Island 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 Rock Island 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 Rock Island 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
35Rock Island County, IL34304.9$745K−1.7%#1,239 of 1,611

Other business types in Rock Island 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 Rock Island County, IL?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 30 child care centers and preschools in Rock Island County. 3 of them (10%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 36 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 12.5% from 2019. Another 311 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $22.4M a year, or $362 per household. That is 38% below the U.S. average (an index of 62, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 30 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $745K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 61,733 households in Rock Island County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Rock Island County has 4.9 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $745K, 26% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Rock Island County would have about 22, against 30 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,715 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 12.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.

How fast is Rock Island County, IL growing?

Population estimates put Rock Island County at 141,869 people in 2025, down 1.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 61,733 households. Median household income in Rock Island County is $67,159, 17% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.4%, 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. Rock Island County scores 34 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #1,239 of 1,611 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Rock Island 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 Rock Island County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Rock Island 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 Rock Island 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.