Groundwork

Child care · County · Iowa

Child care centers and preschools in Warren County, IA

How Warren 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 · out of 100

Score 63 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #463 of 1,611 scored counties
#1 of 38 scored counties in Iowa

Listings
11
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
12
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$10M
On child care and other personal services · $483 a household
Spending per listing
$907K
9% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.3
9% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
57,331
+9.0% since 2020

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

At $483 per household (17% below the U.S. average), households in Warren County spend about $10M a year on child care and other personal services. Spread across 11 child care centers and preschools, that is $907K per center, 9% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

Warren County has 11 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 5.3 for every 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Warren County was 12 in 2023. That is one for every 1,723 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 168 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $459K have gone to businesses classed as child care services in Warren County.

Population estimates show Warren County grew 9.0% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For child care centers and preschools, Warren County has a Groundwork market score of 63 (upper middle): #463 of 1,611 scored counties and #1 of 38 scored counties in Iowa.

How Warren 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 Warren County, IA compared with Iowa and the U.S.
MeasureWarren CountyIowaU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.35.85.8
Spending per listing$907K$700K$1M
Households per official establishment1,7231,4701,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.8%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+9.0%+1.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$483$406$581
Median household income$94,588$75,059$80,734
Groundwork market score6324

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
9 → 12
Employees, 2023
177
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
168Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
110 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
10The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$459K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in Warren 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 Warren County

Population, 2025 estimate
57,331+9.0% since 2020
Households
20,679
Median age
39.0
Homes lived in by their owners
82%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
570 sq. mi.
People per square mile
96
Median household income
$94,588+22.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$111,331
Median home value
$269,600
Jobs located here
12,335
Daytime population
39,313Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Warren 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 Warren 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 Warren 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

Other business types in Warren 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 Warren County, IA?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 11 child care centers and preschools in Warren County. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 168 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $10M a year, or $483 per household. That is 17% below the U.S. average (an index of 83, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 11 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $907K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 20,679 households in Warren County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Warren County has 5.3 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $907K, 9% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Warren County would have about 10, against 11 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,723 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is Warren County, IA growing?

Population estimates put Warren County at 57,331 people in 2025, up 9.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 20,679 households. Median household income in Warren County is $94,588, 17% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.8%, 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. Warren County scores 63 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #463 of 1,611 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Warren 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 Warren 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.