Child care · Small-town market · Illinois
Child care centers and preschools in the Sterling, IL area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in the Sterling, IL area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 30 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #381 of 454 scored small-town markets
#13 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Illinois
- Listings
- 16
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 11
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $7.9M
- On child care and other personal services · $342 a household
- Spending per listing
- $494K
- 51% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.9
- 19% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 54,121
- −2.6% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Sterling area
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 the Sterling area. 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
The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Sterling area is 30 (lower middle), #381 of 454 scored small-town markets and #13 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Illinois. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Sterling area comes to about $7.9M a year: $342 per household, 41% below the U.S. average. Spread across 16 child care centers and preschools, that is $494K per center, 51% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
There are 16 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Sterling area as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.9, 19% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Sterling area in 2023. That is one for every 2,102 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $669K has gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Sterling area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Sterling area declined 2.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Sterling area 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 | Sterling area | Illinois | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.9 | 5.2 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $494K | $946K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,102 | 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 | $342 | $489 | $581 |
| Median household income | $67,500 | $83,390 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 30 | 45 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 11
- Employees, 2023
- 90
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 84Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 160 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 8The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $669K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Sterling area, 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 the Sterling area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 54,121−2.6% since 2020
- Households
- 23,120
- Median age
- 43.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 684 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 80
- Median household income
- $67,500+24.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $86,592
- Median home value
- $127,100
- Jobs located here
- 20,819
- Daytime population
- 50,543Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Sterling area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 the Sterling area. 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 small-town markets in Illinois for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Illinois (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Sterling area marked.
Top small-town markets in Illinois
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Ottawa, IL | 71 | 20 | 3.2 | $1.2M | −1.6% | #67 of 454 |
| 2Rochelle, IL | 63 | 10 | 4.8 | $850K | −0.7% | #124 of 454 |
| 3Carbondale, IL | 60 | 6 | 2.6 | $1.2M | −1.5% | #141 of 454 |
| 4Marion-Herrin, IL | 60 | 12 | 4.1 | $874K | +0.2% | #146 of 454 |
| 5Quincy, IL-MO | 46 | 18 | 5.8 | $601K | −2.0% | #271 of 454 |
| 6Dixon, IL | 43 | 7 | 5.2 | $725K | −3.4% | #289 of 454 |
| 7Taylorville, IL | 43 | 7 | 5.2 | $652K | −1.5% | #294 of 454 |
| 8Danville, IL | 42 | 11 | 3.7 | $864K | −3.7% | #300 of 454 |
| 9Charleston-Mattoon, IL | 35 | 9 | 4.3 | $735K | −1.0% | #350 of 454 |
| Burlington, IA-IL | 35 | 11 | 5.5 | $593K | −2.5% | #353 of 454 |
| 13Sterling, IL | 30 | 16 | 6.9 | $494K | −2.6% | #381 of 454 |
Other business types in the Sterling area
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 preschools30
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Sterling, IL area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 16 child care centers and preschools in the Sterling area. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 84 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Sterling, IL area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $7.9M a year, or $342 per household. That is 41% below the U.S. average (an index of 59, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 16 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $494K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 23,120 households in the Sterling area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Sterling, IL area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Sterling area has 6.9 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $494K, 51% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Sterling area would have about 8, against 16 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,102 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Sterling, IL area growing?
Population estimates put the Sterling area at 54,121 people in 2025, down 2.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 23,120 households. Median household income in the Sterling area is $67,500, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.5%, 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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. The Sterling area scores 30 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #381 of 454 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Sterling area. 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 the Sterling area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sterling area?
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 the Sterling area. 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.