Groundwork

Child care · Metro area · Louisiana

Child care centers and preschools in the Baton Rouge, LA metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in the Baton Rouge, LA metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 32 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #319 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 10 scored metro areas based in Louisiana

Listings
220
22 chain locations (10%)
Official establishments
229
+15.5% since 2019
Household spending a year
$152.9M
On child care and other personal services · $460 a household
Spending per listing
$695K
31% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.6
14% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
888,699
+2.1% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Baton Rouge 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 Baton Rouge metro area. 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

The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Baton Rouge metro area is 32 (lower middle), #319 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 of 10 scored metro areas based in Louisiana. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

As of September 2026, map listings count 220 child care centers and preschools in the Baton Rouge metro area. 22 of them (10%) are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.6, 14% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Baton Rouge metro area comes to about $152.9M a year: $460 per household, 21% below the U.S. average. That works out to $695K per center, 31% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

In 2023, official counts showed 229 businesses with payroll in the Baton Rouge metro area classed as child care services, up 15.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,452 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 12 SBA-backed loans worth $5.4M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Baton Rouge metro area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Baton Rouge metro area grew 2.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Baton Rouge metro area compares

The same measures for Louisiana 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 Baton Rouge, LA metro area compared with Louisiana and the U.S.
MeasureBaton Rouge metro areaLouisianaU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.65.65.8
Spending per listing$695K$729K$1M
Households per official establishment1,4521,7351,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+15.5%+7.1%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.1%−0.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$460$411$581
Median household income$69,599$60,756$80,734
Groundwork market score3230

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
229+15.5% over the period
Employees, 2023
3,114
Annual payroll, 2023
$68.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
1,862Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
22022 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
153The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
12
Amount
$5.4M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Baton Rouge 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 Baton Rouge metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
888,699+2.1% since 2020
Households
332,585
Median age
37.4
Homes lived in by their owners
69%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
4,368 sq. mi.
People per square mile
200
Median household income
$69,599+18.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$96,334
Median home value
$241,100
Jobs located here
407,162
Daytime population
909,836Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Baton Rouge 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 Baton Rouge metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Child care and preschools across Louisiana

Every Louisiana market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in Louisiana for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Louisiana, with the Baton Rouge metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Louisiana

Metro areas in Louisiana ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA57595.6$913K+5.3%#148 of 387
2Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA44354.4$903K−3.5%#238 of 387
3Lake Charles, LA37495.3$808K−3.8%#282 of 387
4New Orleans-Metairie, LA342295.7$756K−3.4%#302 of 387
5Lafayette, LA341056.4$639K+3.8%#303 of 387
6Baton Rouge, LA322206.6$695K+2.1%#319 of 387
7Shreveport-Bossier City, LA26714.5$842K−2.3%#350 of 387
8Hammond, LA25387.3$513K+5.8%#360 of 387
9Monroe, LA22434.9$747K−1.9%#366 of 387
10Alexandria, LA18335.9$651K−2.5%#372 of 387

Other business types in the Baton Rouge metro area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many child care centers and preschools are in the Baton Rouge, LA metro area?

The Baton Rouge metro area has 220 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. 22 of them (10%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 229 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 15.5% from 2019. Official counts list 1,862 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Baton Rouge, LA metro area spend on child care and other personal services?

About $152.9M a year, or $460 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 220 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $695K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 332,585 households in the Baton Rouge metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Baton Rouge, LA metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?

The Baton Rouge metro area has 6.6 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $695K, 31% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Baton Rouge metro area would have about 153, against 220 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,452 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 15.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.

How fast is the Baton Rouge, LA metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Baton Rouge metro area at 888,699 people in 2025, up 2.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 332,585 households. The median household income in the Baton Rouge metro area is $69,599 a year, 14% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 18.1% 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. The Baton Rouge metro area scores 32 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #319 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 Baton Rouge 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 Baton Rouge metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Baton Rouge 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 Baton Rouge 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.