Child care · County · Louisiana
Child care centers and preschools in Rapides Parish, LA
How Rapides Parish, LA 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 23 out of 100: Low
Ranked #1,437 of 1,611 scored counties
#30 of 34 scored counties in Louisiana
- Listings
- 32
- 2 chain locations (6%)
- Official establishments
- 34
- +21.4% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $18.6M
- On child care and other personal services · $379 a household
- Spending per listing
- $580K
- 42% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.5
- 12% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 125,877
- −2.9% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Rapides Parish
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 Rapides Parish. 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
The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in Rapides Parish is 23 (low), #1,437 of 1,611 scored counties and #30 of 34 scored counties in Louisiana. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in Rapides Parish comes to about $18.6M a year: $379 per household, 35% below the U.S. average. That is about $580K of household spending for each center on map listings, 42% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
There are 32 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Rapides Parish as of September 2026. Of those, 2 are chain locations, or 6%, against 12% across the U.S. That is 6.5 per 10,000 households, 12% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Rapides Parish was 34 in 2023, up 21.4% from 2019. That is one for every 1,440 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $2.4M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in Rapides Parish. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Rapides Parish declined 2.9%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How Rapides Parish 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 | Rapides Parish | Louisiana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.5 | 5.6 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $580K | $729K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,440 | 1,735 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +21.4% | +7.1% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.9% | −0.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $379 | $411 | $581 |
| Median household income | $54,967 | $60,756 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 23 | 30 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 28 → 34+21.4% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 492
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $10.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 208Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 322 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 19The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $2.4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in Rapides Parish, 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 Rapides Parish
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 125,877−2.9% since 2020
- Households
- 48,954
- Median age
- 39.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 65%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 1,324 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 96
- Median household income
- $54,967+16.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $78,854
- Median home value
- $181,100
- Jobs located here
- 54,365
- Daytime population
- 133,944Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Rapides Parish?
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 Rapides Parish. 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 counties in Louisiana for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Louisiana, with Rapides Parish marked.
Top counties in Louisiana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1St. Tammany Parish, LA | 62 | 59 | 5.6 | $913K | +5.3% | #489 of 1,611 |
| 2Livingston Parish, LA | 56 | 29 | 5.4 | $805K | +8.5% | #667 of 1,611 |
| 3Lafourche Parish, LA | 54 | 17 | 4.5 | $900K | −2.0% | #719 of 1,611 |
| 4Bossier Parish, LA | 53 | 23 | 4.5 | $939K | +2.5% | #743 of 1,611 |
| 5Jefferson Parish, LA | 53 | 82 | 4.6 | $923K | −1.9% | #744 of 1,611 |
| 6St. Martin Parish, LA | 52 | 8 | 4.1 | $901K | −1.0% | #769 of 1,611 |
| 7St. Charles Parish, LA | 50 | 10 | 5.4 | $939K | −3.7% | #818 of 1,611 |
| 8St. Bernard Parish, LA | 47 | 9 | 5.5 | $699K | +4.1% | #904 of 1,611 |
| 9Natchitoches Parish, LA | 46 | 5 | 3.4 | $1M | −3.5% | #916 of 1,611 |
| 10Terrebonne Parish, LA | 46 | 18 | 4.3 | $906K | −4.8% | #921 of 1,611 |
| 30Rapides Parish, LA | 23 | 32 | 6.5 | $580K | −2.9% | #1,437 of 1,611 |
Other business types in Rapides Parish
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 preschools23
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in Rapides Parish, LA?
As of September 2026, map listings count 32 child care centers and preschools in Rapides Parish. 2 of them (6%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 34 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 21.4% from 2019. Another 208 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Rapides Parish, LA spend on child care and other personal services?
About $18.6M a year, or $379 per household. That is 35% below the U.S. average (an index of 65, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 32 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $580K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 48,954 households in Rapides Parish and national spending patterns by income.
How does Rapides Parish, LA compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
Rapides Parish has 6.5 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 12% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $580K, 42% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Rapides Parish would have about 19, against 32 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,440 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 21.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is Rapides Parish, LA growing?
Population estimates put Rapides Parish at 125,877 people in 2025, down 2.9% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 48,954 households. Median household income in Rapides Parish is $54,967, 32% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 16.3%, 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. Rapides Parish scores 23 for child care centers and preschools (low), #1,437 of 1,611 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Rapides Parish. 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 Rapides Parish
Screening a site or an acquisition in Rapides Parish?
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 Rapides Parish. 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.