Groundwork

Child care · Small-town market · Indiana

Child care centers and preschools in the Wabash, IN area

How the Wabash, IN area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 4.

Listings
4
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
4
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$4.3M
On child care and other personal services · $342 a household
Spending per listing
$1.1M
8% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.2
45% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
30,713
−0.7% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Wabash 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 Wabash area. 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 4 child care centers and preschools in the Wabash area. That comes to 3.2 for every 10,000 households, 45% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

At $342 per household (41% below the U.S. average), households in the Wabash area spend about $4.3M a year on child care and other personal services. Spread across 4 child care centers and preschools, that is $1.1M per center, 8% above the U.S. figure of $1M.

In 2023, official counts showed 4 businesses with payroll in the Wabash area classed as child care services. That is one for every 3,169 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 34 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show the Wabash area declined 0.7% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. With 4 child care centers and preschools on map listings, the Wabash area isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.

How the Wabash 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.

Child care and preschools in Wabash, IN area compared with Indiana and the U.S.
MeasureWabash areaIndianaU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.25.95.8
Spending per listing$1.1M$668K$1M
Households per official establishment3,1691,8931,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+2.1%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.7%+2.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$342$396$581
Median household income$66,806$71,957$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored34

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4
Employees, 2023
40
Annual payroll, 2023
$924K
One-person businesses, 2023
34Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
40 chain locations
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 the Wabash 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 Wabash area

Population, 2025 estimate
30,713−0.7% since 2020
Households
12,674
Median age
44.0
Homes lived in by their owners
80%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
413 sq. mi.
People per square mile
75
Median household income
$66,806+23.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$83,614
Median home value
$157,200
Jobs located here
11,902
Daytime population
29,095Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Wabash 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 Wabash area. 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 small-town markets in Indiana for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Indiana, with the Wabash area marked.

Top small-town markets in Indiana

Small-town markets in Indiana ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Jasper, IN6784.6$903K+0.9%#99 of 454
2Kendallville, IN6373.9$915K+1.0%#123 of 454
3Auburn, IN6274.1$882K+2.9%#131 of 454
4New Castle, IN6063.2$977K+0.5%#145 of 454
5Bedford, IN55105.2$653K+1.2%#191 of 454
6Washington, IN5254.2$852K+2.5%#213 of 454
7Angola, IN5296.4$585K+1.0%#221 of 454
8Seymour, IN5195.0$728K+1.9%#226 of 454
9Huntington, IN4563.9$847K+1.6%#273 of 454
10Richmond, IN44145.2$609K−0.5%#284 of 454
Wabash, INNot scored43.2$1.1M−0.7%

Other business types in the Wabash area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many child care centers and preschools are in the Wabash, IN area?

The Wabash area has 4 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 34 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in the Wabash, IN area spend on child care and other personal services?

About $4.3M 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 4 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.1M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 12,674 households in the Wabash area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Wabash area has 3.2 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 45% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.1M, 8% above 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. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,169 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is the Wabash, IN area growing?

Population estimates put the Wabash area at 30,713 people in 2025, down 0.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 12,674 households. The median household income in the Wabash area is $66,806 a year, 17% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.1% 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. 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 Wabash area has no market score for child care centers and preschools: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 4.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Wabash 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 Wabash area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Wabash 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 Wabash 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.