Child care · Small-town market · Louisiana
Child care centers and preschools in the Ruston, LA area
The child care centers and preschools in the Ruston, LA area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 32 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #369 of 454 scored small-town markets
#4 of 7 scored small-town markets based in Louisiana
- Listings
- 12
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 12
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $6.5M
- On child care and other personal services · $351 a household
- Spending per listing
- $541K
- 46% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.5
- 12% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 48,360
- +0.1% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Ruston 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 Ruston 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
The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Ruston area is 32 (lower middle), #369 of 454 scored small-town markets and #4 of 7 scored small-town markets based in Louisiana. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
As of September 2026, map listings count 12 child care centers and preschools in the Ruston area. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That is 6.5 per 10,000 households, 12% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Households in the Ruston area spend about $6.5M a year on child care and other personal services, or $351 per household, 39% below the U.S. average. That is about $541K of household spending for each center on map listings, 46% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Ruston area was 12 in 2023. That is one for every 1,541 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Ruston area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Ruston 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 | Ruston area | Louisiana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.5 | 5.6 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $541K | $729K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,541 | 1,735 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +7.1% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.1% | −0.7% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $351 | $411 | $581 |
| Median household income | $39,172 | $60,756 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 32 | 30 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 12
- Employees, 2023
- 84
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 87Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 120 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 7The 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 the Ruston 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 Ruston area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 48,360+0.1% since 2020
- Households
- 18,487
- Median age
- 32.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 54%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 472 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 102
- Median household income
- $39,172+10.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $66,113
- Median home value
- $210,100
- Jobs located here
- 18,570
- Daytime population
- 48,307Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ruston area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Ruston 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 small-town markets in Louisiana for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Louisiana (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Ruston area marked.
Top small-town markets in Louisiana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Natchitoches, LA | 50 | 5 | 3.4 | $1M | −3.5% | #229 of 454 |
| 2New Iberia, LA | 48 | 8 | 3.0 | $1.2M | −4.6% | #240 of 454 |
| 3Morgan City, LA | 34 | 11 | 6.0 | $561K | −5.3% | #358 of 454 |
| 4Ruston, LA | 32 | 12 | 6.5 | $541K | +0.1% | #369 of 454 |
| 5Bogalusa, LA | 26 | 8 | 4.5 | $688K | −0.9% | #400 of 454 |
| 6Opelousas, LA | 24 | 23 | 7.1 | $434K | −1.9% | #409 of 454 |
| Natchez, MS-LA | 23 | 11 | 5.3 | $596K | −0.9% | #411 of 454 |
| 7Minden, LA | 19 | 14 | 9.8 | $293K | −5.2% | #426 of 454 |
Other business types in the Ruston 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 preschools32
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Ruston, LA area?
The Ruston area has 12 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts also show 87 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Ruston, LA area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $6.5M a year, or $351 per household. That is 39% below the U.S. average (an index of 61, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $541K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 18,487 households in the Ruston area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ruston, LA area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Ruston area 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 $541K, 46% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Ruston area would have about 7, against 12 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,541 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Ruston, LA area growing?
Population estimates put the Ruston area at 48,360 people in 2025, up 0.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,487 households. The median household income in the Ruston area is $39,172 a year, 51% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 10.5% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Ruston area scores 32 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #369 of 454 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Ruston 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 Ruston area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ruston 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 Ruston 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.