Groundwork

Child care · County · Iowa

Child care centers and preschools in Cass County, IA

How Cass County, IA compares with other counties 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 3.

Listings
3
1 chain location (33%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$2M
On child care and other personal services · $346 a household
Spending per listing
$674K
33% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.1
12% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
12,960
−1.2% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Cass 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 Cass County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Map listings as of September 2026 show 3 child care centers and preschools in Cass County. That comes to 5.1 for every 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

At $346 per household (40% below the U.S. average), households in Cass County spend about $2M a year on child care and other personal services. That works out to $674K per center, 33% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Cass County: counts under 3 aren’t published. Official counts list 42 one-person businesses without payroll.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Cass County declined 1.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S. With 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings, Cass County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.

How Cass County compares

The same measures for Iowa 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 Cass County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureCass CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.15.85.8
Spending per listing$674K$700K$1M
Households per official establishmentn/a1,4701,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.8%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.2%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$346$406$581
Median household income$63,013$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored24

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
n/a
Employees, 2023
n/a
Annual payroll, 2023
n/a
One-person businesses, 2023
42Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
31 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2The 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 Cass 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 Cass County

Population, 2025 estimate
12,960−1.2% since 2020
Households
5,844
Median age
44.7
Homes lived in by their owners
72%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
564 sq. mi.
People per square mile
23
Median household income
$63,013+25.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$84,546
Median home value
$150,300
Jobs located here
5,421
Daytime population
12,873Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Cass 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 Cass County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Child care and preschools across Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

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

Top counties in Iowa

Counties in Iowa ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Warren County, IA63115.3$907K+9.0%#463 of 1,611
2Dallas County, IA61266.1$958K+17.8%#523 of 1,611
3Cerro Gordo County, IA5452.6$1.4M−1.5%#702 of 1,611
4Polk County, IA541145.6$833K+4.8%#727 of 1,611
5Dickinson County, IA5266.8$636K+1.7%#783 of 1,611
6Scott County, IA51476.4$678K+0.4%#806 of 1,611
7Marshall County, IA4963.9$891K−0.5%#844 of 1,611
8Benton County, IA4854.9$901K+1.8%#871 of 1,611
9Marion County, IA4796.8$610K+2.3%#911 of 1,611
10Pottawattamie County, IA43154.0$960K−0.7%#998 of 1,611
Cass County, IANot scored35.1$674K−1.2%

Other business types in Cass 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 Cass County, IA?

There are 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Cass County as of September 2026. The listings count day care centers and preschools. No official count is published for child care services in Cass County: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts also show 42 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $2M a year, or $346 per household. That is 40% below the U.S. average (an index of 60, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $674K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 5,844 households in Cass County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Cass County has 5.1 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $674K, 33% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Cass County would have about 2, against 3 on map listings.

How fast is Cass County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Cass County at 12,960 people in 2025, down 1.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 5,844 households. The median household income in Cass County is $63,013 a year, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.6% 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. 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. Cass County has no market score for child care centers and preschools: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 3.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Cass 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 Cass 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.