Groundwork

Child care · County · Kansas

Child care centers and preschools in Shawnee County, KS

The child care centers and preschools in Shawnee County, KS, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 40 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,106 of 1,611 scored counties
#13 of 28 scored counties in Kansas

Listings
41
2 chain locations (5%)
Official establishments
36
+9.1% since 2019
Household spending a year
$28.1M
On child care and other personal services · $373 a household
Spending per listing
$686K
31% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.4
7% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
178,607
0.0% since 2020

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 41 child care centers and preschools in Shawnee County. Chain locations make up 5% of them, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 5.4, 7% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Households in Shawnee County spend about $28.1M a year on child care and other personal services, or $373 per household, 36% below the U.S. average. That works out to $686K per center, 31% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

Official counts show 36 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Shawnee County in 2023, up 9.1% from 2019. That is one for every 2,096 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 345 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show Shawnee County held about level from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in Shawnee County is 40 (lower middle), #1,106 of 1,611 scored counties and #13 of 28 scored counties in Kansas.

How Shawnee 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 Shawnee County, KS compared with Kansas and the U.S.
MeasureShawnee CountyKansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.46.15.8
Spending per listing$686K$679K$1M
Households per official establishment2,0962,0141,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+9.1%+3.4%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–20250.0%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$373$418$581
Median household income$67,104$74,275$80,734
Groundwork market score4037

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
33 → 36+9.1% over the period
Employees, 2023
477
Annual payroll, 2023
$12.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
345Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
412 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
28The 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 Shawnee 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 Shawnee County

Population, 2025 estimate
178,6070.0% since 2020
Households
75,458
Median age
40.6
Homes lived in by their owners
67%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
544 sq. mi.
People per square mile
327
Median household income
$67,104+18.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$88,163
Median home value
$180,900
Jobs located here
103,349
Daytime population
200,016Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Shawnee 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 Shawnee 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 Shawnee 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
13Shawnee County, KS40415.4$686K0.0%#1,106 of 1,611

Other business types in Shawnee 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 Shawnee County, KS?

There are 41 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Shawnee County as of September 2026. 2 of them (5%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 36 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 9.1% from 2019. Another 345 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $28.1M a year, or $373 per household. That is 36% below the U.S. average (an index of 64, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 41 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $686K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 75,458 households in Shawnee County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Shawnee County has 5.4 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $686K, 31% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Shawnee County would have about 28, against 41 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,096 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 9.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.

How fast is Shawnee County, KS growing?

Population estimates put Shawnee County at 178,607 people in 2025, unchanged since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 75,458 households. The median household income in Shawnee County is $67,104 a year, 17% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 18.2% 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. 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. Shawnee County scores 40 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #1,106 of 1,611 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Shawnee 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 Shawnee 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.