Child care · Small-town market · Iowa
Child care centers and preschools in the Muscatine, IA area
The child care centers and preschools in the Muscatine, IA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 33 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #363 of 454 scored small-town markets
#11 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 12
- 2 chain locations (17%)
- Official establishments
- 8
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $6.2M
- On child care and other personal services · $358 a household
- Spending per listing
- $518K
- 48% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.9
- 19% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 41,853
- −3.0% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Muscatine 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 Muscatine 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
The Muscatine area scores 33 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #363 of 454 scored small-town markets and #11 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 12 child care centers and preschools in the Muscatine area. Of those, 2 are chain locations, or 17%, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.9, 19% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
At $358 per household (38% below the U.S. average), households in the Muscatine area spend about $6.2M a year on child care and other personal services. That is about $518K of household spending for each center on map listings, 48% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
In 2023, official counts showed 8 businesses with payroll in the Muscatine area classed as child care services. That is one for every 2,168 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Muscatine area from 2020 to 2025 at −3.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Muscatine 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 | Muscatine area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.9 | 5.8 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $518K | $700K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,168 | 1,470 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.8% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.0% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $358 | $406 | $581 |
| Median household income | $69,396 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 33 | 24 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 8
- Employees, 2023
- 120
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 129Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 122 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 6The 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 Muscatine 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 Muscatine area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 41,853−3.0% since 2020
- Households
- 17,345
- Median age
- 39.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 437 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 97
- Median household income
- $69,396+18.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $86,373
- Median home value
- $182,100
- Jobs located here
- 21,008
- Daytime population
- 43,232Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Muscatine 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 Muscatine 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 Muscatine 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 |
| 11Muscatine, IA | 33 | 12 | 6.9 | $518K | −3.0% | #363 of 454 |
Other business types in the Muscatine 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 preschools33
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Muscatine, IA area?
There are 12 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Muscatine area as of September 2026. 2 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 129 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Muscatine, IA area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $6.2M a year, or $358 per household. That is 38% below the U.S. average (an index of 62, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $518K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 17,345 households in the Muscatine area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Muscatine, IA area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Muscatine area has 6.9 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $518K, 48% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Muscatine area would have about 6, against 12 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,168 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Muscatine, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Muscatine area at 41,853 people in 2025, down 3.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 17,345 households. The median household income in the Muscatine area is $69,396 a year, 14% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 18.7% 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. 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 Muscatine area scores 33 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #363 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 Muscatine 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 Muscatine area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Muscatine 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 Muscatine 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.