Child care · Metro area · Indiana
Child care centers and preschools in the Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN metro area
The child care centers and preschools in the Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 33 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #313 of 387 scored metro areas
#7 of 12 scored metro areas based in Indiana
- Listings
- 56
- 2 chain locations (4%)
- Official establishments
- 41
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $32.6M
- On child care and other personal services · $359 a household
- Spending per listing
- $582K
- 42% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.2
- 7% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 228,468
- +2.1% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro 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 Lafayette-West Lafayette metro 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 Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area is 33 (lower middle), #313 of 387 scored metro areas and #7 of 12 scored metro areas based in Indiana. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area comes to about $32.6M a year: $359 per household, 38% below the U.S. average. Spread across 56 child care centers and preschools, that is $582K per center, 42% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area has 56 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. Of those, 2 are chain locations, or 4%, against 12% across the U.S. That is 6.2 per 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 41 businesses with payroll in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area classed as child care services. That is one for every 2,212 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area grew 2.1% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area 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.
| Measure | Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area | Indiana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.2 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $582K | $668K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,212 | 1,893 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +2.1% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.1% | +2.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $359 | $396 | $581 |
| Median household income | $62,011 | $71,957 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 33 | 34 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 41
- Employees, 2023
- 584
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $17.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 308Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 562 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 33The 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 the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro 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 Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 228,468+2.1% since 2020
- Households
- 90,706
- Median age
- 35.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 58%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,642 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 138
- Median household income
- $62,011+16.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $83,994
- Median home value
- $226,100
- Jobs located here
- 106,732
- Daytime population
- 234,551Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Lafayette-West Lafayette metro 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 Indiana
Every Indiana market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Indiana for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Indiana (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Indiana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Kokomo, IN | 49 | 9 | 2.5 | $1.3M | +0.4% | #197 of 387 |
| 2Columbus, IN | 48 | 19 | 5.7 | $773K | +4.3% | #212 of 387 |
| 3Bloomington, IN | 46 | 31 | 4.6 | $839K | +2.0% | #227 of 387 |
| Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 46 | 306 | 5.5 | $820K | +2.9% | #228 of 387 |
| Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN | 43 | 2,035 | 5.6 | $953K | 0.0% | #246 of 387 |
| 4Fort Wayne, IN | 42 | 101 | 5.5 | $685K | +3.9% | #256 of 387 |
| 5Elkhart-Goshen, IN | 41 | 33 | 4.6 | $800K | +0.9% | #259 of 387 |
| 6Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood, IN | 40 | 581 | 6.9 | $665K | +5.4% | #270 of 387 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 39 | 546 | 6.0 | $787K | +2.7% | #272 of 387 |
| 7Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN | 33 | 56 | 6.2 | $582K | +2.1% | #313 of 387 |
Other business types in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro 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 preschools33
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 56 child care centers and preschools in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area. 2 of them (4%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 41 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 308 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $32.6M a year, or $359 per household. That is 38% below the U.S. average (an index of 62, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 56 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $582K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 90,706 households in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area has 6.2 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $582K, 42% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area would have about 33, against 56 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,212 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Lafayette-West Lafayette, IN metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area at 228,468 people in 2025, up 2.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 90,706 households. Median household income in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area is $62,011, 23% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 16.3%, 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. The Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area scores 33 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #313 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro 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 Lafayette-West Lafayette metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lafayette-West Lafayette metro 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 Lafayette-West Lafayette metro 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.