Groundwork

Child care · County · Indiana

Child care centers and preschools in Clay County, IN

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in Clay County, IN, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 25 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,417 of 1,611 scored counties
#49 of 59 scored counties in Indiana

Listings
8
1 chain location (13%)
Official establishments
7
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$3.9M
On child care and other personal services · $371 a household
Spending per listing
$489K
51% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.6
31% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
26,410
−0.1% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Clay 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 Clay 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, Clay County has a Groundwork market score of 25 (lower middle): #1,417 of 1,611 scored counties and #49 of 59 scored counties in Indiana. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.

At $371 per household (36% below the U.S. average), households in Clay County spend about $3.9M a year on child care and other personal services. That works out to $489K per center, 51% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

Clay County has 8 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (13%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. That is 7.6 per 10,000 households, 31% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Clay County was 7 in 2023. That is one for every 1,507 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Population estimates show Clay County declined 0.1% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How Clay County compares

The same measures for Indiana 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 Clay County, IN compared with Indiana and the U.S.
MeasureClay CountyIndianaU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.65.95.8
Spending per listing$489K$668K$1M
Households per official establishment1,5071,8931,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+2.1%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.1%+2.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$371$396$581
Median household income$70,010$71,957$80,734
Groundwork market score2534

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
7 → 7
Employees, 2023
32
Annual payroll, 2023
$527K
One-person businesses, 2023
10Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
81 chain location
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 Clay 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 Clay County

Population, 2025 estimate
26,410−0.1% since 2020
Households
10,549
Median age
41.4
Homes lived in by their owners
81%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
358 sq. mi.
People per square mile
74
Median household income
$70,010+25.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$101,024
Median home value
$153,000
Jobs located here
7,738
Daytime population
24,011Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Clay 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 Clay 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 Indiana

Every Indiana market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Indiana for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Indiana, with Clay County marked.

Top counties in Indiana

Counties in Indiana ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Boone County, IN73175.9$1.1M+13.5%#202 of 1,611
2Clark County, IN69183.5$1.1M+7.5%#292 of 1,611
3Hancock County, IN69206.0$832K+13.5%#302 of 1,611
4Morgan County, IN65113.9$1.1M+4.4%#396 of 1,611
5Hamilton County, IN641047.6$894K+10.9%#436 of 1,611
6Johnson County, IN64396.2$766K+7.4%#441 of 1,611
7Warrick County, IN63114.4$1.1M+4.4%#452 of 1,611
8Hendricks County, IN63487.2$736K+10.2%#469 of 1,611
9Porter County, IN60395.7$818K+1.6%#557 of 1,611
10Dubois County, IN5984.6$903K+0.9%#577 of 1,611
49Clay County, IN2587.6$489K−0.1%#1,417 of 1,611

Other business types in Clay 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 Clay County, IN?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 8 child care centers and preschools in Clay County. One of them (13%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 10 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $3.9M a year, or $371 per household. That is 36% below the U.S. average (an index of 64, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 8 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $489K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 10,549 households in Clay County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Clay County has 7.6 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 31% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $489K, 51% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Clay County would have about 4, against 8 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,507 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is Clay County, IN growing?

Population estimates put Clay County at 26,410 people in 2025, down 0.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 10,549 households. Median household income in Clay County is $70,010, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.8%, 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. Clay County scores 25 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #1,417 of 1,611 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Clay 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 Clay 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.