Child care · County · Kentucky
Child care centers and preschools in Hardin County, KY
How Hardin County, KY 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 57 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #629 of 1,611 scored counties
#9 of 37 scored counties in Kentucky
- Listings
- 19
- 2 chain locations (11%)
- Official establishments
- 24
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $18.5M
- On child care and other personal services · $414 a household
- Spending per listing
- $972K
- 3% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.3
- 26% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 113,482
- +2.4% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Hardin 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 Hardin County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 19 child care centers and preschools in Hardin County. Chain locations make up 11% of them, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 4.3 for every 10,000 households, 26% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
At $414 per household (29% below the U.S. average), households in Hardin County spend about $18.5M a year on child care and other personal services. Spread across 19 child care centers and preschools, that is $972K per center, 3% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Hardin County was 24 in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 1,859 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 97 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $150K has gone to businesses classed as child care services in Hardin County.
Population estimates show Hardin County grew 2.4% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For child care centers and preschools, Hardin County has a Groundwork market score of 57 (upper middle): #629 of 1,611 scored counties and #9 of 37 scored counties in Kentucky.
How Hardin County compares
The same measures for Kentucky 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.
| Measure | Hardin County | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.3 | 4.8 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $972K | $849K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,859 | 1,962 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +3.6% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.4% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $414 | $405 | $581 |
| Median household income | $67,647 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 57 | 49 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 24 → 240.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 237
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 97Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 192 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 18The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $150K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in Hardin 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 Hardin County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 113,482+2.4% since 2020
- Households
- 44,622
- Median age
- 38.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 63%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 624 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 179
- Median household income
- $67,647+24.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $93,596
- Median home value
- $225,800
- Jobs located here
- 42,829
- Daytime population
- 107,983Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Hardin 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 Hardin County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.
Free10 actions over 3 days, no cardChild care and preschools across Kentucky
Every Kentucky market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Kentucky for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Kentucky, with Hardin County marked.
Top counties in Kentucky
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Oldham County, KY | 82 | 10 | 4.3 | $1.7M | +4.9% | #61 of 1,611 |
| 2Shelby County, KY | 78 | 8 | 4.3 | $1.1M | +6.2% | #123 of 1,611 |
| 3Scott County, KY | 74 | 9 | 4.0 | $1.3M | +8.2% | #175 of 1,611 |
| 4Bullitt County, KY | 71 | 12 | 3.8 | $1.2M | +5.0% | #233 of 1,611 |
| 5Jessamine County, KY | 62 | 8 | 4.0 | $1.1M | +7.8% | #482 of 1,611 |
| 6Warren County, KY | 62 | 27 | 4.9 | $827K | +10.6% | #493 of 1,611 |
| 7Pike County, KY | 59 | 5 | 2.1 | $1.5M | −6.4% | #562 of 1,611 |
| 8Nelson County, KY | 58 | 11 | 5.7 | $690K | +4.8% | #617 of 1,611 |
| 9Hardin County, KY | 57 | 19 | 4.3 | $972K | +2.4% | #629 of 1,611 |
| 10Kenton County, KY | 57 | 36 | 5.3 | $940K | +3.9% | #632 of 1,611 |
Other business types in Hardin County
Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
- Child care and preschools57
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in Hardin County, KY?
There are 19 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Hardin County as of September 2026. 2 of them (11%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 24 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Official counts also show 97 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Hardin County, KY spend on child care and other personal services?
About $18.5M a year, or $414 per household. That is 29% below the U.S. average (an index of 71, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 19 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $972K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 44,622 households in Hardin County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Hardin County, KY compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
Hardin 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 $972K, 3% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Hardin County would have about 18, against 19 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,859 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is Hardin County, KY growing?
Population estimates put Hardin County at 113,482 people in 2025, up 2.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 44,622 households. The median household income in Hardin County is $67,647 a year, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.4% 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. Hardin County scores 57 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #629 of 1,611 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Hardin 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 Hardin County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Hardin 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 Hardin 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.