Groundwork

Child care · County · Kansas

Child care centers and preschools in Thomas County, KS

How Thomas County, KS compares with other counties and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
2
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$1.2M
On child care and other personal services · $376 a household
Spending per listing
$590K
Too few listings to compare
Listings per 10k households
6.4
Too few listings to compare
Population, 2025
7,725
−2.5% since 2020

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

As of September 2026, map listings count 2 child care centers and preschools in Thomas County. That is 6.4 per 10,000 households.

At $376 per household (35% below the U.S. average), households in Thomas County spend about $1.2M a year on child care and other personal services. That works out to $590K per center.

There is no official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Thomas County: counts under 3 aren’t published. Official counts list 29 one-person businesses without payroll.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Thomas County declined 2.5%, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Thomas 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 Thomas County, KS compared with Kansas and the U.S.
MeasureThomas CountyKansasU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.46.15.8
Spending per listing$590K$679K$1M
Households per official establishmentn/a2,0141,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+3.4%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−2.5%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$376$418$581
Median household income$71,325$74,275$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored37

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
n/a
Employees, 2023
n/a
Annual payroll, 2023
n/a
One-person businesses, 2023
29Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
20 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1The 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 Thomas 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 Thomas County

Population, 2025 estimate
7,725−2.5% since 2020
Households
3,139
Median age
36.7
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
1,075 sq. mi.
People per square mile
7
Median household income
$71,325
Average household income
$93,106
Median home value
$172,700
Jobs located here
3,904
Daytime population
7,883Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Thomas 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 Thomas 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 Thomas 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
Thomas County, KSNot scored26.4$590K−2.5%

Other business types in Thomas County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many child care centers and preschools are in Thomas County, KS?

Thomas County has 2 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. The listings count day care centers and preschools. No official count is published for child care services in Thomas County: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts also show 29 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $1.2M a year, or $376 per household. That is 35% below the U.S. average (an index of 65, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $590K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,139 households in Thomas County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Thomas County has 2 child care centers and preschools on map listings, too few for a steady comparison with the U.S. rate. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Thomas County would have about 1, against 2 on map listings.

How fast is Thomas County, KS growing?

Population estimates put Thomas County at 7,725 people in 2025, down 2.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 3,139 households. The median household income in Thomas County is $71,325 a year, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734.

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. The score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Thomas 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 Thomas 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.