Groundwork

Child care · County · Illinois

Child care centers and preschools in Shelby County, IL

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in Shelby 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 3.

Listings
3
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$3M
On child care and other personal services · $339 a household
Spending per listing
$1M
In line with the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.4
41% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
20,576
−1.6% since 2020

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

As of September 2026, map listings count 3 child care centers and preschools in Shelby County. That comes to 3.4 for every 10,000 households, 41% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

At $339 per household (42% below the U.S. average), households in Shelby County spend about $3M a year on child care and other personal services. That works out to $1M per center, in line with the U.S. figure of $1M.

There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Shelby County: counts under 3 aren’t published. Official counts also show 57 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates put the population change in Shelby County from 2020 to 2025 at −1.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. With 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings, Shelby County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.

How Shelby 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 Shelby County, IL compared with Illinois and the U.S.
MeasureShelby CountyIllinoisU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.45.25.8
Spending per listing$1M$946K$1M
Households per official establishmentn/a1,6051,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+4.3%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.6%−0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$339$489$581
Median household income$72,095$83,390$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored45

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
n/a
Employees, 2023
n/a
Annual payroll, 2023
n/a
One-person businesses, 2023
57Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
30 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 Shelby 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 Shelby County

Population, 2025 estimate
20,576−1.6% since 2020
Households
8,918
Median age
45.3
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
759 sq. mi.
People per square mile
27
Median household income
$72,095+36.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$82,841
Median home value
$137,100
Jobs located here
4,879
Daytime population
15,659Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Shelby 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 Shelby 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 Shelby 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
Shelby County, ILNot scored33.4$1M−1.6%

Other business types in Shelby 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 Shelby County, IL?

Shelby County has 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. The listings count day care centers and preschools. No official count is published for child care services in Shelby County: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts list 57 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $3M a year, or $339 per household. That is 42% below the U.S. average (an index of 58, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,918 households in Shelby County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Shelby County has 3.4 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 41% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1M, in line with the U.S. figure of $1M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending.

How fast is Shelby County, IL growing?

Population estimates put Shelby County at 20,576 people in 2025, down 1.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 8,918 households. The median household income in Shelby County is $72,095 a year, 11% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 36.2% 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. Shelby 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 Shelby 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 Shelby County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Shelby 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 Shelby 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.