Child care · Metro area · Indiana
Child care centers and preschools in the Michigan City-La Porte, IN metro area
How the Michigan City-La Porte, IN metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 22 out of 100: Low
Ranked #368 of 387 scored metro areas
#11 of 12 scored metro areas based in Indiana
- Listings
- 25
- 2 chain locations (8%)
- Official establishments
- 25
- +8.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $16.2M
- On child care and other personal services · $371 a household
- Spending per listing
- $648K
- 35% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.7
- 2% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 111,294
- −0.9% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Michigan City-La Porte 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 Michigan City-La Porte 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 Michigan City-La Porte metro area is 22 (low), #368 of 387 scored metro areas and #11 of 12 scored metro areas based in Indiana. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
At $371 per household (36% below the U.S. average), households in the Michigan City-La Porte metro area spend about $16.2M a year on child care and other personal services. That is about $648K of household spending for each center on map listings, 35% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The Michigan City-La Porte metro area has 25 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. 2 of them (8%) are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 5.7, 2% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Official counts show 25 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Michigan City-La Porte metro area in 2023, up 8.7% from 2019. That is one for every 1,745 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Michigan City-La Porte metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Michigan City-La Porte 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 | Michigan City-La Porte metro area | Indiana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.7 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $648K | $668K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,745 | 1,893 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +8.7% | +2.1% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.9% | +2.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $371 | $396 | $581 |
| Median household income | $71,055 | $71,957 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 22 | 34 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 25+8.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 84
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 168Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 252 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 16The 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 Michigan City-La Porte 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 Michigan City-La Porte metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 111,294−0.9% since 2020
- Households
- 43,633
- Median age
- 41.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 75%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 598 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 187
- Median household income
- $71,055+32.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $89,682
- Median home value
- $195,500
- Jobs located here
- 39,820
- Daytime population
- 107,276Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Michigan City-La Porte 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 Michigan City-La Porte 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 Michigan City-La Porte 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 |
| 11Michigan City-La Porte, IN | 22 | 25 | 5.7 | $648K | −0.9% | #368 of 387 |
Other business types in the Michigan City-La Porte 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 preschools22
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Michigan City-La Porte, IN metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 25 child care centers and preschools in the Michigan City-La Porte metro area. 2 of them (8%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 25 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 8.7% from 2019. Official counts list 168 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Michigan City-La Porte, IN metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $16.2M 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 25 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $648K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 43,633 households in the Michigan City-La Porte metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Michigan City-La Porte, IN metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Michigan City-La Porte metro area has 5.7 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $648K, 35% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Michigan City-La Porte metro area would have about 16, against 25 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,745 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Michigan City-La Porte, IN metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Michigan City-La Porte metro area at 111,294 people in 2025, down 0.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 43,633 households. Median household income in the Michigan City-La Porte metro area is $71,055, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 32.4%, 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. The Michigan City-La Porte metro area scores 22 for child care centers and preschools (low), #368 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 Michigan City-La Porte 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 Michigan City-La Porte metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Michigan City-La Porte 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 Michigan City-La Porte 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.