Groundwork

Child care · County · Iowa

Child care centers and preschools in Emmet County, IA

How Emmet 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

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
3
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
5
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$1.2M
On child care and other personal services · $300 a household
Spending per listing
$406K
59% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.4
28% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
9,107
−2.5% since 2020

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

As of September 2026, map listings count 3 child care centers and preschools in Emmet County. That is 7.4 per 10,000 households, 28% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Households in Emmet County spend about $1.2M a year on child care and other personal services, or $300 per household, 48% below the U.S. average. That is about $406K of household spending for each center on map listings, 59% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

In 2023, official counts showed 5 businesses with payroll in Emmet County classed as child care services. That is one for every 813 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 32 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Population estimates show Emmet County declined 2.5% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Emmet 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 Emmet County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureEmmet CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.45.85.8
Spending per listing$406K$700K$1M
Households per official establishment8131,4701,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.8%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.5%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$300$406$581
Median household income$63,730$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored24

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4 → 5
Employees, 2023
67
Annual payroll, 2023
$611K
One-person businesses, 2023
32Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
30 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1The 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 Emmet 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 Emmet County

Population, 2025 estimate
9,107−2.5% since 2020
Households
4,063
Median age
42.6
Homes lived in by their owners
79%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
396 sq. mi.
People per square mile
23
Median household income
$63,730
Average household income
$77,279
Median home value
$114,100
Jobs located here
3,241
Daytime population
8,094Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Emmet 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 Emmet County. 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 counties in Iowa for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Iowa, with Emmet 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
Emmet County, IANot scored37.4$406K−2.5%

Other business types in Emmet County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many child care centers and preschools are in Emmet County, IA?

Emmet County has 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 32 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $1.2M a year, or $300 per household. That is 48% below the U.S. average (an index of 52, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $406K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 4,063 households in Emmet County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Emmet County has 7.4 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 28% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $406K, 59% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Emmet County would have about 1, against 3 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 813 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is Emmet County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Emmet County at 9,107 people in 2025, down 2.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 4,063 households. The median household income in Emmet County is $63,730 a year, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Emmet 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 Emmet 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.