Child care · Metro area · Louisiana
Child care centers and preschools in the Lake Charles, LA metro area
How the Lake Charles, LA 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 37 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #282 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 10 scored metro areas based in Louisiana
- Listings
- 49
- 4 chain locations (8%)
- Official establishments
- 45
- +12.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $39.6M
- On child care and other personal services · $430 a household
- Spending per listing
- $808K
- 19% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.3
- 9% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 244,655
- −3.8% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Lake Charles 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 Lake Charles 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 49 child care centers and preschools in the Lake Charles metro area. 4 of them (8%) are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 5.3 for every 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Households in the Lake Charles metro area spend about $39.6M a year on child care and other personal services, or $430 per household, 26% below the U.S. average. Spread across 49 child care centers and preschools, that is $808K per center, 19% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
In 2023, official counts showed 45 businesses with payroll in the Lake Charles metro area classed as child care services, up 12.5% from 2019. That is one for every 2,045 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 427 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $176K has gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Lake Charles metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Lake Charles metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −3.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Lake Charles metro area scores 37 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #282 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 10 scored metro areas based in Louisiana.
How the Lake Charles 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.
| Measure | Lake Charles metro area | Louisiana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.3 | 5.6 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $808K | $729K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,045 | 1,735 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +12.5% | +7.1% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.8% | −0.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $430 | $411 | $581 |
| Median household income | $66,700 | $60,756 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 37 | 30 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 45+12.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 588
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $11M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 427Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 494 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 40The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $176K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Lake Charles 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 Lake Charles metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 244,655−3.8% since 2020
- Households
- 92,043
- Median age
- 38.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 3,006 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 81
- Median household income
- $66,700
- Average household income
- $91,252
- Median home value
- $207,800
- Jobs located here
- 97,089
- Daytime population
- 245,958Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Lake Charles 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 Lake Charles 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 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 Lake Charles metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Louisiana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Slidell-Mandeville-Covington, LA | 57 | 59 | 5.6 | $913K | +5.3% | #148 of 387 |
| 2Houma-Bayou Cane-Thibodaux, LA | 44 | 35 | 4.4 | $903K | −3.5% | #238 of 387 |
| 3Lake Charles, LA | 37 | 49 | 5.3 | $808K | −3.8% | #282 of 387 |
| 4New Orleans-Metairie, LA | 34 | 229 | 5.7 | $756K | −3.4% | #302 of 387 |
| 5Lafayette, LA | 34 | 105 | 6.4 | $639K | +3.8% | #303 of 387 |
| 6Baton Rouge, LA | 32 | 220 | 6.6 | $695K | +2.1% | #319 of 387 |
| 7Shreveport-Bossier City, LA | 26 | 71 | 4.5 | $842K | −2.3% | #350 of 387 |
| 8Hammond, LA | 25 | 38 | 7.3 | $513K | +5.8% | #360 of 387 |
| 9Monroe, LA | 22 | 43 | 4.9 | $747K | −1.9% | #366 of 387 |
| 10Alexandria, LA | 18 | 33 | 5.9 | $651K | −2.5% | #372 of 387 |
Other business types in the Lake Charles 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 preschools37
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Lake Charles, LA metro area?
The Lake Charles metro area has 49 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. 4 of them (8%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 45 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 12.5% from 2019. Another 427 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Lake Charles, LA metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $39.6M a year, or $430 per household. That is 26% below the U.S. average (an index of 74, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 49 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $808K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 92,043 households in the Lake Charles metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Lake Charles, LA metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Lake Charles metro area has 5.3 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $808K, 19% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Lake Charles metro area would have about 40, against 49 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,045 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 12.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Lake Charles, LA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Lake Charles metro area at 244,655 people in 2025, down 3.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 92,043 households. The median household income in the Lake Charles metro area is $66,700 a year, 17% 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 Lake Charles metro area scores 37 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #282 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 Lake Charles 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 Lake Charles metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lake Charles 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 Lake Charles 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.