Child care · Small-town market · Iowa
Child care centers and preschools in the Spirit Lake, IA area
How the Spirit Lake, 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 61 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #139 of 454 scored small-town markets
#1 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Iowa
- Listings
- 6
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 3
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $3.8M
- On child care and other personal services · $431 a household
- Spending per listing
- $636K
- 37% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.8
- 17% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 18,077
- +1.7% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 6 child care centers and preschools in the Spirit Lake area. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That is 6.8 per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Spirit Lake area comes to about $3.8M a year: $431 per household, 26% below the U.S. average. That is about $636K of household spending for each center on map listings, 37% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Spirit Lake area in 2023. That is one for every 2,948 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 37 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Spirit Lake area grew 1.7%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Spirit Lake area is 61 (upper middle), #139 of 454 scored small-town markets and #1 of 13 scored small-town markets based in Iowa.
How the Spirit Lake 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 | Spirit Lake area | Iowa | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.8 | 5.8 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $636K | $700K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,948 | 1,470 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.8% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.7% | +1.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $431 | $406 | $581 |
| Median household income | $75,432 | $75,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 61 | 24 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 3
- Employees, 2023
- 62
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 37Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 60 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 4The 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 Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 18,077+1.7% since 2020
- Households
- 8,845
- Median age
- 48.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 381 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 47
- Median household income
- $75,432+25.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $102,164
- Median home value
- $270,700
- Jobs located here
- 10,412
- Daytime population
- 20,071Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake 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 |
Other business types in the Spirit Lake 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 preschools61
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Spirit Lake, IA area?
The Spirit Lake area has 6 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts also show 37 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Spirit Lake, IA area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $3.8M a year, or $431 per household. That is 26% below the U.S. average (an index of 74, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 6 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $636K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,845 households in the Spirit Lake area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Spirit Lake, IA area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Spirit Lake area has 6.8 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $636K, 37% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Spirit Lake area would have about 4, against 6 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,948 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Spirit Lake, IA area growing?
Population estimates put the Spirit Lake area at 18,077 people in 2025, up 1.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 8,845 households. The median household income in the Spirit Lake area is $75,432 a year, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.8% 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 Spirit Lake area scores 61 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #139 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 Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Spirit Lake 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 Spirit Lake 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.