Groundwork

Child care · County · Kansas

Child care centers and preschools in Riley County, KS

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in Riley County, KS, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 50 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #825 of 1,611 scored counties
#8 of 28 scored counties in Kansas

Listings
12
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
12
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$10.2M
On child care and other personal services · $370 a household
Spending per listing
$854K
15% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.3
26% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
72,598
+0.8% since 2020

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

At $370 per household (36% below the U.S. average), households in Riley County spend about $10.2M a year on child care and other personal services. That is about $854K of household spending for each center on map listings, 15% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

There are 12 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Riley County as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That is 4.3 per 10,000 households, 26% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Riley County was 12 in 2023. That is one for every 2,308 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 93 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates put the population change in Riley County from 2020 to 2025 at +0.8%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For child care centers and preschools, Riley County has a Groundwork market score of 50 (upper middle): #825 of 1,611 scored counties and #8 of 28 scored counties in Kansas.

How Riley County compares

The same measures for Kansas 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 Riley County, KS compared with Kansas and the U.S.
MeasureRiley CountyKansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.36.15.8
Spending per listing$854K$679K$1M
Households per official establishment2,3082,0141,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+3.4%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.8%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$370$418$581
Median household income$61,098$74,275$80,734
Groundwork market score5037

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
13 → 12
Employees, 2023
252
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
93Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
120 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
0
Amount
$0

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

Population, 2025 estimate
72,598+0.8% since 2020
Households
27,695
Median age
30.7
Homes lived in by their owners
46%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
610 sq. mi.
People per square mile
118
Median household income
$61,098+19.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$85,486
Median home value
$237,100
Jobs located here
27,758
Daytime population
75,612Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Riley 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 Riley 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 Kansas

Every Kansas market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Kansas for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Kansas, with Riley County marked.

Top counties in Kansas

Counties in Kansas ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Butler County, KS7662.4$1.8M+3.1%#138 of 1,611
2Johnson County, KS621767.1$869K+4.2%#491 of 1,611
3Douglas County, KS60193.8$1.1M+1.8%#534 of 1,611
4Miami County, KS5985.8$804K+5.9%#584 of 1,611
5Pottawatomie County, KS5455.3$878K+6.9%#721 of 1,611
6Sedgwick County, KS521125.4$709K+2.6%#779 of 1,611
7Reno County, KS5093.5$893K−0.6%#820 of 1,611
8Riley County, KS50124.3$854K+0.8%#825 of 1,611
9Leavenworth County, KS47237.6$625K+3.2%#910 of 1,611
10Cowley County, KS4653.7$849K−0.4%#922 of 1,611

Other business types in Riley 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 Riley County, KS?

As of September 2026, map listings count 12 child care centers and preschools in Riley 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. Official counts also show 93 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $10.2M a year, or $370 per household. That is 36% below the U.S. average (an index of 64, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $854K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 27,695 households in Riley County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Riley County has 4.3 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 26% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $854K, 15% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Riley County would have about 10, against 12 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,308 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is Riley County, KS growing?

Population estimates put Riley County at 72,598 people in 2025, up 0.8% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 27,695 households. Median household income in Riley County is $61,098, 24% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 19.3%, 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. Riley County scores 50 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #825 of 1,611 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Riley 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 Riley 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.