Groundwork

Child care · Small-town market · Iowa

Child care centers and preschools in the Clinton, IA area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in the Clinton, IA area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #252 of 454 scored small-town markets
#6 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Iowa

Listings
8
1 chain location (13%)
Official establishments
12
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$7.2M
On child care and other personal services · $369 a household
Spending per listing
$900K
10% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.1
29% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
46,002
−0.9% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Clinton 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 Clinton 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

Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Clinton area comes to about $7.2M a year: $369 per household, 36% below the U.S. average. That works out to $900K per center, 10% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

There are 8 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Clinton area as of September 2026. One of them (13%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. That is 4.1 per 10,000 households, 29% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 12 businesses with payroll in the Clinton area classed as child care services. That is one for every 1,626 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 120 one-person businesses without payroll.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Clinton area declined 0.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Clinton area scores 47 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #252 of 454 scored small-town markets and #6 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.

How the Clinton area 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 Clinton, IA area compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureClinton areaIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.15.85.8
Spending per listing$900K$700K$1M
Households per official establishment1,6261,4701,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.8%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.9%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$369$406$581
Median household income$66,981$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score4724

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
12
Employees, 2023
102
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
120Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
81 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
7The 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 Clinton 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 Clinton area

Population, 2025 estimate
46,002−0.9% since 2020
Households
19,506
Median age
42.8
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
695 sq. mi.
People per square mile
67
Median household income
$66,981+29.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$88,373
Median home value
$160,600
Jobs located here
19,215
Daytime population
42,953Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Clinton 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 Clinton 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 Iowa

Every Iowa market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Iowa for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Clinton area marked.

Top small-town markets in Iowa

Small-town markets in Iowa ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Spirit Lake, IA6166.8$636K+1.7%#139 of 454
2Pella, IA5596.8$610K+2.3%#194 of 454
3Marshalltown, IA5463.9$891K−0.5%#199 of 454
4Mason City, IA5283.5$1M−1.5%#208 of 454
5Ottumwa, IA4875.0$661K−0.3%#246 of 454
6Clinton, IA4784.1$900K−0.9%#252 of 454
7Fort Dodge, IA4063.9$877K−0.4%#314 of 454
8Le Mars, IA3787.8$536K0.0%#339 of 454
9Burlington, IA-IL35115.5$593K−2.5%#353 of 454
10Oskaloosa, IA3466.9$504K−1.2%#362 of 454

Other business types in the Clinton 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 Clinton, IA area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 8 child care centers and preschools in the Clinton area. One of them (13%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts also show 120 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $7.2M a year, or $369 per household. That is 36% below the U.S. average (an index of 64, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 8 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $900K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 19,506 households in the Clinton area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Clinton area has 4.1 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 29% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $900K, 10% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Clinton area would have about 7, against 8 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,626 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is the Clinton, IA area growing?

Population estimates put the Clinton area at 46,002 people in 2025, down 0.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 19,506 households. Median household income in the Clinton area is $66,981, 17% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.6%, 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 Clinton area scores 47 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #252 of 454 scored small-town markets.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Clinton 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 Clinton 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.