Child care · Metro area · Kentucky
Child care centers and preschools in the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN metro area
How the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 46 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #228 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky
- Listings
- 306
- 36 chain locations (12%)
- Official establishments
- 305
- −1.6% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $250.8M
- On child care and other personal services · $449 a household
- Spending per listing
- $820K
- 18% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.5
- 5% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 1,402,509
- +2.9% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area
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 the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area. 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
Households in the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area spend about $250.8M a year on child care and other personal services, or $449 per household, 23% below the U.S. average. Spread across 306 child care centers and preschools, that is $820K per center, 18% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
There are 306 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area as of September 2026. Of those, 36 are chain locations, or 12%, against 12% across the U.S. That is 5.5 per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 305 businesses with payroll in the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area classed as child care services, down 1.6% from 2019. That is one for every 1,831 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 1,446 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 13 SBA-backed loans worth $8.5M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.9%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area is 46 (lower middle), #228 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 6 scored metro areas based in Kentucky.
How the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area 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 | Louisville/Jefferson County metro area | Kentucky | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.5 | 4.8 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $820K | $849K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,831 | 1,962 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −1.6% | +3.6% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.9% | +2.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $449 | $405 | $581 |
| Median household income | $73,863 | $63,726 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 46 | 49 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 305−1.6% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 4,139
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $104.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 1,446Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 30636 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 250The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 13
- Amount
- $8.5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area, 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 the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 1,402,509+2.9% since 2020
- Households
- 558,306
- Median age
- 40.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 3,961 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 347
- Median household income
- $73,863
- Average household income
- $99,561
- Median home value
- $248,700
- Jobs located here
- 702,791
- Daytime population
- 1,410,493Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area. 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 metro areas in Kentucky for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Kentucky (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Kentucky
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Bowling Green, KY | 57 | 32 | 4.4 | $871K | +9.5% | #149 of 387 |
| Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 53 | 49 | 3.2 | $1.2M | −2.6% | #174 of 387 |
| 2Lexington-Fayette, KY | 52 | 107 | 4.9 | $939K | +3.4% | #183 of 387 |
| 3Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN | 46 | 306 | 5.5 | $820K | +2.9% | #228 of 387 |
| 4Elizabethtown, KY | 40 | 24 | 4.7 | $858K | +2.4% | #263 of 387 |
| 5Owensboro, KY | 40 | 26 | 5.7 | $701K | +1.3% | #269 of 387 |
| Cincinnati, OH-KY-IN | 39 | 546 | 6.0 | $787K | +2.7% | #272 of 387 |
| Clarksville, TN-KY | 34 | 78 | 6.2 | $626K | +8.5% | #305 of 387 |
| 6Paducah, KY-IL | 29 | 24 | 5.8 | $683K | −1.2% | #336 of 387 |
Other business types in the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area
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 preschools46
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 306 child care centers and preschools in the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area. 36 of them (12%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 305 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, down 1.6% from 2019. Official counts also show 1,446 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $250.8M a year, or $449 per household. That is 23% below the U.S. average (an index of 77, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 306 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $820K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 558,306 households in the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Louisville/Jefferson County metro area has 5.5 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $820K, 18% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area would have about 250, against 306 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,831 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count fell 1.6% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY-IN metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area at 1,402,509 people in 2025, up 2.9% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 558,306 households. Median household income in the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area is $73,863, 9% 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 Louisville/Jefferson County metro area scores 46 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #228 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area. 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 the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area?
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 the Louisville/Jefferson County metro area. 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.