Child care · Small-town market · Iowa
Child care centers and preschools in the Fort Madison, IA area
How the Fort Madison, IA 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 · out of 100
Score 10 out of 100: Low
Ranked #447 of 454 scored small-town markets
#13 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 14
- 3 chain locations (21%)
- Official establishments
- 14
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $4.8M
- On child care and other personal services · $332 a household
- Spending per listing
- $340K
- 66% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.8
- 69% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 32,306
- −3.6% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Fort Madison 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 Fort Madison area. 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
For child care centers and preschools, the Fort Madison area has a Groundwork market score of 10 (low): #447 of 454 scored small-town markets and #13 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Iowa. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 14 child care centers and preschools in the Fort Madison area. 3 of them (21%) are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 9.8, 69% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
At $332 per household (43% below the U.S. average), households in the Fort Madison area spend about $4.8M a year on child care and other personal services. That works out to $340K per center, 66% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
In 2023, official counts showed 14 businesses with payroll in the Fort Madison area classed as child care services. That is one for every 1,023 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Fort Madison area declined 3.6% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Fort Madison 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.
| Measure | Fort Madison area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.8 | 5.8 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $340K | $700K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,023 | 1,470 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.8% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.6% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $332 | $406 | $581 |
| Median household income | $62,382 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 10 | 24 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 14
- Employees, 2023
- 93
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 76Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 143 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 5The 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 Fort Madison 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 Fort Madison area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 32,306−3.6% since 2020
- Households
- 14,323
- Median age
- 42.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 76%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 518 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 64
- Median household income
- $62,382
- Average household income
- $79,169
- Median home value
- $141,400
- Jobs located here
- 13,626
- Daytime population
- 31,700Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Fort Madison 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 Fort Madison area. 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 small-town markets in Iowa for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Iowa, with the Fort Madison area marked.
Top small-town markets in Iowa
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Spirit Lake, IA | 61 | 6 | 6.8 | $636K | +1.7% | #139 of 454 |
| 2Pella, IA | 55 | 9 | 6.8 | $610K | +2.3% | #194 of 454 |
| 3Marshalltown, IA | 54 | 6 | 3.9 | $891K | −0.5% | #199 of 454 |
| 4Mason City, IA | 52 | 8 | 3.5 | $1M | −1.5% | #208 of 454 |
| 5Ottumwa, IA | 48 | 7 | 5.0 | $661K | −0.3% | #246 of 454 |
| 6Clinton, IA | 47 | 8 | 4.1 | $900K | −0.9% | #252 of 454 |
| 7Fort Dodge, IA | 40 | 6 | 3.9 | $877K | −0.4% | #314 of 454 |
| 8Le Mars, IA | 37 | 8 | 7.8 | $536K | 0.0% | #339 of 454 |
| 9Burlington, IA-IL | 35 | 11 | 5.5 | $593K | −2.5% | #353 of 454 |
| 10Oskaloosa, IA | 34 | 6 | 6.9 | $504K | −1.2% | #362 of 454 |
| 13Fort Madison, IA | 10 | 14 | 9.8 | $340K | −3.6% | #447 of 454 |
Other business types in the Fort Madison area
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 preschools10
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Fort Madison, IA area?
There are 14 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Fort Madison area as of September 2026. 3 of them (21%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 76 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Fort Madison, IA area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $4.8M a year, or $332 per household. That is 43% below the U.S. average (an index of 57, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $340K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 14,323 households in the Fort Madison area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Fort Madison, IA area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Fort Madison area has 9.8 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 69% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $340K, 66% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Fort Madison area would have about 5, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,023 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Fort Madison, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Fort Madison area at 32,306 people in 2025, down 3.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 14,323 households. The median household income in the Fort Madison area is $62,382 a year, 23% 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. 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 Fort Madison area scores 10 for child care centers and preschools (low), #447 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 Fort Madison 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 Fort Madison area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Fort Madison 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 Fort Madison 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.