Groundwork

Child care · County · Iowa

Child care centers and preschools in Hancock County, IA

How Hancock 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 1.

Listings
1
1 chain location (100%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$1.5M
On child care and other personal services · $328 a household
Spending per listing
$1.5M
Too few listings to compare
Listings per 10k households
2.1
Too few listings to compare
Population, 2025
10,528
−2.2% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Hancock 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 Hancock County. 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 1 child care center or preschool in Hancock County. That is 2.1 per 10,000 households.

At $328 per household (43% below the U.S. average), households in Hancock County spend about $1.5M a year on child care and other personal services. That works out to $1.5M per center.

There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Hancock County: counts under 3 aren’t published. Official counts list 55 one-person businesses without payroll.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Hancock County declined 2.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S. With 1 child care center or preschool on map listings, Hancock County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.

How Hancock 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 Hancock County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureHancock CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households2.15.85.8
Spending per listing$1.5M$700K$1M
Households per official establishmentn/a1,4701,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.8%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.2%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$328$406$581
Median household income$70,601$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
55Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
11 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 Hancock 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 Hancock County

Population, 2025 estimate
10,528−2.2% since 2020
Households
4,673
Median age
45.8
Homes lived in by their owners
82%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
571 sq. mi.
People per square mile
19
Median household income
$70,601+14.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$86,692
Median home value
$141,400
Jobs located here
6,063
Daytime population
11,446Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Hancock 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 Hancock 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 Hancock 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
Hancock County, IANot scored12.1$1.5M−2.2%

Other business types in Hancock 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 Hancock County, IA?

Hancock County has 1 child care center or preschool 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 Hancock County: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts also show 55 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $1.5M a year, or $328 per household. That is 43% below the U.S. average (an index of 57, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1 child care center or preschool on map listings, it comes to $1.5M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 4,673 households in Hancock County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Hancock County has 1 child care center or preschool on map listings, too few for a steady comparison with the U.S. rate. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Hancock County would have about 2, against 1 on map listings.

How fast is Hancock County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Hancock County at 10,528 people in 2025, down 2.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 4,673 households. The median household income in Hancock County is $70,601 a year, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 14.3% 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. Hancock County has no market score for child care centers and preschools: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 1.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Hancock 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 Hancock 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.