Groundwork

Child care · County · Maine

Child care centers and preschools in Lincoln County, ME

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 57 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #630 of 1,611 scored counties
#2 of 16 scored counties in Maine

Listings
9
1 chain location (11%)
Official establishments
12
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$8.7M
On child care and other personal services · $524 a household
Spending per listing
$967K
4% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.4
7% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
36,595
+3.8% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Lincoln 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 Lincoln County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Map listings as of September 2026 show 9 child care centers and preschools in Lincoln County. One of them (11%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 5.4 for every 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

At $524 per household (10% below the U.S. average), households in Lincoln County spend about $8.7M a year on child care and other personal services. That is about $967K of household spending for each center on map listings, 4% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

In 2023, official counts showed 12 businesses with payroll in Lincoln County classed as child care services. That is one for every 1,383 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 22 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show Lincoln County grew 3.8% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). Lincoln County scores 57 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #630 of 1,611 scored counties and #2 of 16 scored counties in Maine.

How Lincoln County compares

The same measures for Maine 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 Lincoln County, ME compared with Maine and the U.S.
MeasureLincoln CountyMaineU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.47.55.8
Spending per listing$967K$718K$1M
Households per official establishment1,3838861,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+1.8%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.8%+3.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$524$538$581
Median household income$76,875$74,733$80,734
Groundwork market score5731

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
19 → 12
Employees, 2023
67
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
22Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
91 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
9The 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 Lincoln 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 Lincoln County

Population, 2025 estimate
36,595+3.8% since 2020
Households
16,592
Median age
50.2
Homes lived in by their owners
83%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
456 sq. mi.
People per square mile
79
Median household income
$76,875+33.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$99,809
Median home value
$332,700
Jobs located here
10,443
Daytime population
32,341Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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 Maine

Every Maine market ranked →

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

Top counties in Maine

Counties in Maine ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Hancock County, ME59124.7$1.1M+3.0%#569 of 1,611
2Lincoln County, ME5795.4$967K+3.8%#630 of 1,611
3Sagadahoc County, ME53106.1$952K+3.4%#742 of 1,611
4Aroostook County, ME50103.3$1.2M−0.7%#810 of 1,611
5Cumberland County, ME491158.7$795K+4.5%#852 of 1,611
6Somerset County, ME48125.2$758K+2.3%#878 of 1,611
7Waldo County, ME4595.2$915K+2.6%#951 of 1,611
8York County, ME43869.4$639K+4.8%#1,018 of 1,611
9Kennebec County, ME42336.1$777K+3.5%#1,034 of 1,611
10Knox County, ME38158.1$674K+1.1%#1,149 of 1,611

Other business types in Lincoln 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 Lincoln County, ME?

There are 9 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Lincoln County as of September 2026. One of them (11%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 22 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $8.7M a year, or $524 per household. That is 10% below the U.S. average (an index of 90, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 9 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $967K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 16,592 households in Lincoln County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Lincoln County has 5.4 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 7% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $967K, 4% below the U.S. figure of $1M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,383 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is Lincoln County, ME growing?

Population estimates put Lincoln County at 36,595 people in 2025, up 3.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 16,592 households. The median household income in Lincoln County is $76,875 a year, 5% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 33.2% 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. Lincoln County scores 57 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #630 of 1,611 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Lincoln 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 Lincoln 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.