Market rankings · Kansas
Child care centers and preschools in Kansas
Every metro area, small-town market and county in Kansas, ranked by the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, with competitor counts and household spending for each.
- Listings
- 722
- 86 chain locations (12%)
- Official establishments
- 583
- +3.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $490.4M
- On child care and other personal services
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.1
- 5% above the U.S.
- Spending per listing
- $679K
- 32% below the U.S.
- Rank among states
- #37 of 51
- Market score 37 · Lower middle
A site report maps the child care centers and preschools on map listings around any address in Kansas by name and distance, and the spending within reach.
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
There are 722 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Kansas as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 12% of them, against 12% across the U.S. That is 6.1 per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Households in Kansas spend about $490.4M a year on child care and other personal services, or $418 per household, 28% below the U.S. average. That is about $679K of household spending for each center on map listings, 32% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
Official counts show 583 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Kansas in 2023, up 3.4% from 2019. That is one for every 2,014 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Across the U.S., the count rose 5.7% over the same years. Since fiscal 2022, 24 SBA-backed loans worth $21.6M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in Kansas.
Among the 50 states and DC, Kansas ranks #37 for child care centers and preschools, with a Groundwork market score of 37 (lower middle). Of the 7 scored metro areas in or partly in Kansas, the Lawrence metro area scores highest (56). Of the 11 scored small-town markets in or partly in Kansas, the Hutchinson area scores highest (55).
Every market in Kansas for child care centers and preschools
Download the ranking (CSV)Numbered by Groundwork market score among the markets based in Kansas, highest first; the U.S. rank compares each market with every other of its kind. A metro area that crosses a state line is listed in each state it reaches, and numbered only in the state its page is under. How the score works.
Metro areas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Lawrence, KS | 56 | 19 | 3.8 | $1.1M | +1.8% | #153 of 387 |
| Kansas City, MO-KS | 47 | 539 | 6.0 | $778K | +3.4% | #223 of 387 |
| 2Wichita, KS | 44 | 132 | 5.2 | $746K | +2.4% | #244 of 387 |
| St. Joseph, MO-KS | 40 | 17 | 3.6 | $957K | −2.0% | #260 of 387 |
| 3Manhattan, KS | 36 | 26 | 5.1 | $720K | +1.4% | #288 of 387 |
| 4Topeka, KS | 30 | 57 | 5.9 | $640K | +0.1% | #331 of 387 |
| Joplin, MO-KS | 28 | 55 | 6.9 | $471K | +3.9% | #343 of 387 |
Small-town markets
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hutchinson, KS | 55 | 9 | 3.5 | $893K | −0.6% | #186 of 454 |
| 2McPherson, KS | 52 | 5 | 4.1 | $934K | −0.4% | #211 of 454 |
| 3Arkansas City-Winfield, KS | 49 | 5 | 3.7 | $849K | −0.4% | #236 of 454 |
| 4Ottawa, KS | 49 | 7 | 6.7 | $525K | +1.1% | #239 of 454 |
| 5Emporia, KS | 42 | 7 | 4.8 | $619K | +0.4% | #305 of 454 |
| 6Garden City, KS | 37 | 9 | 6.8 | $561K | −2.1% | #338 of 454 |
| 7Salina, KS | 33 | 18 | 7.2 | $487K | −1.4% | #364 of 454 |
| 8Pittsburg, KS | 31 | 11 | 6.9 | $422K | +0.1% | #377 of 454 |
| 9Hays, KS | 28 | 11 | 9.0 | $378K | +0.4% | #395 of 454 |
| 10Great Bend, KS | 19 | 12 | 11.6 | $265K | −2.5% | #427 of 454 |
| 11Liberal, KS | 12 | 8 | 11.0 | $291K | −3.6% | #445 of 454 |
| Dodge City, KS | Not scored | 4 | 3.4 | $1.1M | −0.6% | |
| Atchison, KS | Not scored | 1 | 1.7 | $1.8M | −0.9% |
Counties
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Butler County, KS | 76 | 6 | 2.4 | $1.8M | +3.1% | #138 of 1,611 |
| 2Johnson County, KS | 62 | 176 | 7.1 | $869K | +4.2% | #491 of 1,611 |
| 3Douglas County, KS | 60 | 19 | 3.8 | $1.1M | +1.8% | #534 of 1,611 |
| 4Miami County, KS | 59 | 8 | 5.8 | $804K | +5.9% | #584 of 1,611 |
| 5Pottawatomie County, KS | 54 | 5 | 5.3 | $878K | +6.9% | #721 of 1,611 |
| 6Sedgwick County, KS | 52 | 112 | 5.4 | $709K | +2.6% | #779 of 1,611 |
| 7Reno County, KS | 50 | 9 | 3.5 | $893K | −0.6% | #820 of 1,611 |
| 8Riley County, KS | 50 | 12 | 4.3 | $854K | +0.8% | #825 of 1,611 |
| 9Leavenworth County, KS | 47 | 23 | 7.6 | $625K | +3.2% | #910 of 1,611 |
| 10Cowley County, KS | 46 | 5 | 3.7 | $849K | −0.4% | #922 of 1,611 |
| 11McPherson County, KS | 45 | 5 | 4.1 | $934K | −0.4% | #950 of 1,611 |
| 12Franklin County, KS | 42 | 7 | 6.7 | $525K | +1.1% | #1,054 of 1,611 |
| 13Shawnee County, KS | 40 | 41 | 5.4 | $686K | 0.0% | #1,106 of 1,611 |
| 14Wyandotte County, KS | 38 | 38 | 6.2 | $542K | +1.0% | #1,154 of 1,611 |
| 15Lyon County, KS | 36 | 7 | 5.2 | $568K | +0.5% | #1,196 of 1,611 |
| 16Saline County, KS | 32 | 16 | 7.1 | $489K | −1.6% | #1,304 of 1,611 |
| 17Finney County, KS | 31 | 9 | 6.8 | $561K | −2.1% | #1,315 of 1,611 |
| 18Crawford County, KS | 30 | 11 | 6.9 | $422K | +0.1% | #1,342 of 1,611 |
| 19Harvey County, KS | 29 | 8 | 5.8 | $616K | −1.2% | #1,351 of 1,611 |
| 20Geary County, KS | 29 | 9 | 6.4 | $454K | −1.2% | #1,362 of 1,611 |
| 21Sumner County, KS | 28 | 6 | 6.7 | $521K | −0.1% | #1,376 of 1,611 |
| 22Ellis County, KS | 24 | 11 | 9.0 | $378K | +0.4% | #1,435 of 1,611 |
| 23Neosho County, KS | 22 | 6 | 9.3 | $334K | −1.7% | #1,464 of 1,611 |
| 24Jackson County, KS | 20 | 6 | 12.0 | $305K | +1.5% | #1,494 of 1,611 |
| 25Barton County, KS | 19 | 12 | 11.6 | $265K | −2.5% | #1,510 of 1,611 |
Show all 105 counties
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 26Montgomery County, KS | 15 | 12 | 9.3 | $311K | −3.9% | #1,552 of 1,611 |
| 27Dickinson County, KS | 15 | 12 | 15.0 | $235K | +1.4% | #1,553 of 1,611 |
| 28Seward County, KS | 11 | 8 | 11.0 | $291K | −3.6% | #1,577 of 1,611 |
| Ford County, KS | Not scored | 4 | 3.4 | $1.1M | −0.6% | |
| Labette County, KS | Not scored | 3 | 3.7 | $782K | −2.4% | |
| Cherokee County, KS | Not scored | 4 | 5.1 | $580K | −1.0% | |
| Jefferson County, KS | Not scored | 3 | 4.0 | $1.1M | −0.2% | |
| Atchison County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 1.7 | $1.8M | −0.9% | |
| Osage County, KS | Not scored | 4 | 6.2 | $558K | −0.3% | |
| Bourbon County, KS | Not scored | 4 | 6.8 | $454K | −0.1% | |
| Allen County, KS | Not scored | 4 | 8.0 | $387K | −1.8% | |
| Marion County, KS | Not scored | 2 | 4.2 | $781K | −1.3% | |
| Nemaha County, KS | Not scored | 4 | 9.9 | $387K | −2.1% | |
| Marshall County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 2.4 | $1.4M | −1.7% | |
| Linn County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | +3.7% | |
| Rice County, KS | Not scored | 4 | 10.8 | $299K | −1.2% | |
| Brown County, KS | Not scored | 4 | 10.5 | $344K | −4.0% | |
| Pratt County, KS | Not scored | 4 | 11.5 | $285K | −0.2% | |
| Cloud County, KS | Not scored | 4 | 10.5 | $270K | −2.0% | |
| Wilson County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −3.3% | |
| Coffey County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 2.8 | $1.3M | +1.3% | |
| Clay County, KS | Not scored | 3 | 8.5 | $423K | −1.7% | |
| Thomas County, KS | Not scored | 2 | 6.4 | $590K | −2.5% | |
| Anderson County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 3.1 | $878K | +2.3% | |
| Doniphan County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 3.7 | $1M | +1.7% | |
| Grant County, KS | Not scored | 3 | 12.6 | $363K | −4.0% | |
| Kingman County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 3.2 | $942K | −5.4% | |
| Wabaunsee County, KS | Not scored | 3 | 11.2 | $365K | +1.8% | |
| Russell County, KS | Not scored | 5 | 16.1 | $199K | −1.4% | |
| Ellsworth County, KS | Not scored | 3 | 12.2 | $287K | −1.7% | |
| Pawnee County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 4.2 | $932K | −4.2% | |
| Greenwood County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −2.3% | |
| Sherman County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 4.1 | $892K | −2.4% | |
| Ottawa County, KS | Not scored | 2 | 8.3 | $466K | +0.3% | |
| Mitchell County, KS | Not scored | 4 | 14.9 | $234K | −3.2% | |
| Gray County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | +0.1% | |
| Washington County, KS | Not scored | 3 | 12.6 | $252K | −0.2% | |
| Harper County, KS | Not scored | 5 | 22.7 | $132K | −1.8% | |
| Norton County, KS | Not scored | 2 | 10.0 | $256K | −3.0% | |
| Morris County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −0.3% | |
| Stevens County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 5.3 | $641K | −4.9% | |
| Scott County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 4.4 | $695K | −6.3% | |
| Phillips County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 4.4 | $677K | −4.8% | |
| Rooks County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 4.7 | $648K | −4.9% | |
| Republic County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 5.0 | $578K | −0.8% | |
| Barber County, KS | Not scored | 4 | 21.9 | $153K | −2.9% | |
| Stafford County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −1.3% | |
| Meade County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −5.1% | |
| Kearny County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −2.0% | |
| Haskell County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −4.2% | |
| Smith County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | 0.0% | |
| Osborne County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 6.3 | $476K | −5.8% | |
| Chautauqua County, KS | Not scored | 2 | 14.7 | $205K | −1.9% | |
| Woodson County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | +0.7% | |
| Rush County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 7.2 | $475K | −3.2% | |
| Lincoln County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 7.8 | $400K | −3.0% | |
| Jewell County, KS | Not scored | 2 | 15.2 | $189K | −3.3% | |
| Gove County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 8.6 | $412K | −3.0% | |
| Edwards County, KS | Not scored | 3 | 25.8 | $121K | −8.6% | |
| Trego County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −2.5% | |
| Decatur County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 7.5 | $377K | −1.7% | |
| Logan County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −2.9% | |
| Ness County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −2.1% | |
| Cheyenne County, KS | Not scored | 2 | 16.5 | $196K | −0.3% | |
| Morton County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −8.4% | |
| Chase County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −0.1% | |
| Rawlins County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 8.5 | $317K | −5.3% | |
| Hamilton County, KS | Not scored | 3 | 39.6 | $95K | +0.4% | |
| Elk County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −0.9% | |
| Sheridan County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −0.8% | |
| Kiowa County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −1.0% | |
| Graham County, KS | Not scored | 2 | 16.8 | $158K | −1.4% | |
| Wichita County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −5.5% | |
| Stanton County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −4.5% | |
| Clark County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 12.7 | $278K | −3.8% | |
| Comanche County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −0.4% | |
| Hodgeman County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −7.0% | |
| Lane County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 14.1 | $249K | −3.8% | |
| Wallace County, KS | Not scored | 1 | 16.7 | $196K | −4.7% | |
| Greeley County, KS | Not scored | 0 | 0.0 | n/a | −7.4% |
Markets with fewer than 5 child care centers and preschools on map listings, and counties under 10,000 people, aren’t scored; they’re listed last in each table.
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in Kansas?
As of September 2026, map listings count 722 child care centers and preschools in Kansas. 86 of them (12%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 583 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 3.4% from 2019. Official counts list 5,379 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Kansas spend on child care and other personal services?
About $490.4M a year, or $418 per household. That is 28% below the U.S. average (an index of 72, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 722 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $679K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,174,060 households in Kansas and national spending patterns by income.
How does Kansas compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
Kansas has 6.1 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $679K, 32% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Kansas would have about 489, against 722 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,014 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
Which market in Kansas has the highest market score for child care centers and preschools?
Among 7 scored metro areas in or partly in Kansas, the Lawrence metro area scores highest, at 56 (upper middle). Among 11 scored small-town markets in or partly in Kansas, the Hutchinson area scores highest, at 55 (upper middle). Among 28 scored counties in Kansas, Butler County scores highest, at 76 (high). Scores compare each market with others of its kind across the U.S.
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. Kansas scores 37 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #37 of the 50 states and DC.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Kansas. 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.
Child care and preschools in other states
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Top markets for child care centers and preschools across the U.S. · All business types in Kansas
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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.