Groundwork

Child care · County · Kentucky

Child care centers and preschools in McCreary County, KY

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

Groundwork market score

Not scored

The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 4.

Listings
4
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
4
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$1.5M
On child care and other personal services · $260 a household
Spending per listing
$381K
62% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.8
17% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
17,124
+1.7% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in McCreary 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 McCreary 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 4 child care centers and preschools in McCreary County. That is 6.8 per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Household spending on child care and other personal services in McCreary County comes to about $1.5M a year: $260 per household, 55% below the U.S. average. That works out to $381K per center, 62% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in McCreary County was 4 in 2023. That is one for every 1,465 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 12 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates put the population change in McCreary County from 2020 to 2025 at +1.7%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). With 4 child care centers and preschools on map listings, McCreary County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.

How McCreary 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.

Child care and preschools in McCreary County, KY compared with Kentucky and the U.S.
MeasureMcCreary CountyKentuckyU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.84.85.8
Spending per listing$381K$849K$1M
Households per official establishment1,4651,9621,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+3.6%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.7%+2.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$260$405$581
Median household income$33,750$63,726$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored49

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4 → 4
Employees, 2023
46
Annual payroll, 2023
$794K
One-person businesses, 2023
12Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
40 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2The 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 McCreary 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 McCreary County

Population, 2025 estimate
17,124+1.7% since 2020
Households
5,861
Median age
40.3
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
427 sq. mi.
People per square mile
40
Median household income
$33,750+20.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$46,528
Median home value
$85,300
Jobs located here
2,342
Daytime population
14,241Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in McCreary 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 McCreary 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 Kentucky

Every Kentucky market ranked →

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

Top counties in Kentucky

Counties in Kentucky ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Oldham County, KY82104.3$1.7M+4.9%#61 of 1,611
2Shelby County, KY7884.3$1.1M+6.2%#123 of 1,611
3Scott County, KY7494.0$1.3M+8.2%#175 of 1,611
4Bullitt County, KY71123.8$1.2M+5.0%#233 of 1,611
5Jessamine County, KY6284.0$1.1M+7.8%#482 of 1,611
6Warren County, KY62274.9$827K+10.6%#493 of 1,611
7Pike County, KY5952.1$1.5M−6.4%#562 of 1,611
8Nelson County, KY58115.7$690K+4.8%#617 of 1,611
9Hardin County, KY57194.3$972K+2.4%#629 of 1,611
10Kenton County, KY57365.3$940K+3.9%#632 of 1,611
McCreary County, KYNot scored46.8$381K+1.7%

Other business types in McCreary 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 McCreary County, KY?

McCreary County has 4 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 12 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $1.5M a year, or $260 per household. That is 55% below the U.S. average (an index of 45, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 4 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $381K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 5,861 households in McCreary County and national spending patterns by income.

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

McCreary County has 6.8 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $381K, 62% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, McCreary County would have about 2, against 4 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,465 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is McCreary County, KY growing?

Population estimates put McCreary County at 17,124 people in 2025, up 1.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 5,861 households. The median household income in McCreary County is $33,750 a year, 58% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 20.1% 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. McCreary County has no market score for child care centers and preschools: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 4.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in McCreary 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 McCreary 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.