Child care · County · Iowa
Child care centers and preschools in Clay County, IA
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in Clay County, IA, set against other counties and the U.S.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 4.
- Listings
- 4
- 1 chain location (25%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $2.5M
- On child care and other personal services · $344 a household
- Spending per listing
- $626K
- 37% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.5
- 5% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 16,202
- −0.8% 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 cardSurvey 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 Clay County. That comes to 5.5 for every 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in Clay County comes to about $2.5M a year: $344 per household, 41% below the U.S. average. That is about $626K of household spending for each center on map listings, 37% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Clay County: counts under 3 aren’t published. Official counts also show 58 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Clay County declined 0.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S. With 4 child care centers and preschools on map listings, Clay County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.
How Clay 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.
| Measure | Clay County | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.5 | 5.8 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $626K | $700K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 1,470 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.8% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.8% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $344 | $406 | $581 |
| Median household income | $65,428 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 24 |
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
- 58Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 41 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 3The 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
- 16,202−0.8% since 2020
- Households
- 7,282
- Median age
- 43.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 567 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 29
- Median household income
- $65,428+29.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $83,614
- Median home value
- $178,600
- Jobs located here
- 8,325
- Daytime population
- 16,701Residents 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.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardChild 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 Clay County marked.
Top counties in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Warren County, IA | 63 | 11 | 5.3 | $907K | +9.0% | #463 of 1,611 |
| 2Dallas County, IA | 61 | 26 | 6.1 | $958K | +17.8% | #523 of 1,611 |
| 3Cerro Gordo County, IA | 54 | 5 | 2.6 | $1.4M | −1.5% | #702 of 1,611 |
| 4Polk County, IA | 54 | 114 | 5.6 | $833K | +4.8% | #727 of 1,611 |
| 5Dickinson County, IA | 52 | 6 | 6.8 | $636K | +1.7% | #783 of 1,611 |
| 6Scott County, IA | 51 | 47 | 6.4 | $678K | +0.4% | #806 of 1,611 |
| 7Marshall County, IA | 49 | 6 | 3.9 | $891K | −0.5% | #844 of 1,611 |
| 8Benton County, IA | 48 | 5 | 4.9 | $901K | +1.8% | #871 of 1,611 |
| 9Marion County, IA | 47 | 9 | 6.8 | $610K | +2.3% | #911 of 1,611 |
| 10Pottawattamie County, IA | 43 | 15 | 4.0 | $960K | −0.7% | #998 of 1,611 |
| Clay County, IA | Not scored | 4 | 5.5 | $626K | −0.8% |
Other business types in Clay County
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 preschools
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in Clay County, IA?
Clay County has 4 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. The listings count day care centers and preschools. No official count is published for child care services in Clay County: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts list 58 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Clay County, IA spend on child care and other personal services?
About $2.5M a year, or $344 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 $626K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 7,282 households in Clay County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Clay County, IA compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
Clay County has 5.5 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $626K, 37% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Clay County would have about 3, against 4 on map listings.
How fast is Clay County, IA growing?
Population estimates put Clay County at 16,202 people in 2025, down 0.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 7,282 households. The median household income in Clay County is $65,428 a year, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 29.5% 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. Clay County 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 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.