Child care · Metro area · Michigan
Child care centers and preschools in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area
How the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI 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 53 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #176 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan
- Listings
- 795
- 99 chain locations (12%)
- Official establishments
- 887
- +14.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $797.5M
- On child care and other personal services · $451 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1M
- In line with the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.5
- 22% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 4,390,913
- +0.1% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn 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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 795 child care centers and preschools in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area. Of those, 99 are chain locations, or 12%, against 12% across the U.S. That is 4.5 per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area comes to about $797.5M a year: $451 per household, 22% below the U.S. average. That works out to $1M per center, in line with the U.S. figure of $1M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area was 887 in 2023, up 14.8% from 2019. That is one for every 1,994 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 7,148 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 68 SBA-backed loans worth $37.3M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area grew 0.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area scores 53 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #176 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan.
How the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area compares
The same measures for Michigan 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 | Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.5 | 4.7 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1M | $888K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,994 | 1,950 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +14.8% | +14.5% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.1% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $451 | $416 | $581 |
| Median household income | $76,664 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 53 | 48 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 887+14.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 11,013
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $320.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 7,148Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 79599 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 796The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 68
- Amount
- $37.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn 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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 4,390,913+0.1% since 2020
- Households
- 1,768,816
- Median age
- 41.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 3,893 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 1,124
- Median household income
- $76,664+25.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $105,167
- Median home value
- $249,700
- Jobs located here
- 1,848,019
- Daytime population
- 4,411,570Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn 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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn 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 Michigan
Every Michigan market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Michigan for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Michigan, with the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Michigan
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Grand Rapids-Wyoming-Kentwood, MI | 56 | 211 | 4.8 | $929K | +2.8% | #157 of 387 |
| 2Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI | 53 | 795 | 4.5 | $1M | +0.1% | #176 of 387 |
| 3Traverse City, MI | 52 | 29 | 4.4 | $967K | +2.2% | #182 of 387 |
| 4Monroe, MI | 50 | 31 | 4.9 | $848K | +0.7% | #195 of 387 |
| 5Flint, MI | 42 | 62 | 3.7 | $951K | −1.1% | #253 of 387 |
| 6Ann Arbor, MI | 40 | 86 | 5.7 | $940K | −0.4% | #261 of 387 |
| 7Bay City, MI | 40 | 17 | 3.8 | $887K | −1.6% | #262 of 387 |
| 8Lansing-East Lansing, MI | 40 | 98 | 5.0 | $791K | +1.4% | #266 of 387 |
| 9Niles, MI | 35 | 30 | 4.7 | $818K | −1.3% | #289 of 387 |
| 10Kalamazoo-Portage, MI | 34 | 59 | 5.5 | $760K | +0.8% | #301 of 387 |
Other business types in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn 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 preschools53
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area?
There are 795 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area as of September 2026. 99 of them (12%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 887 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 14.8% from 2019. Another 7,148 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $797.5M a year, or $451 per household. That is 22% below the U.S. average (an index of 78, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 795 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,768,816 households in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area has 4.5 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1M, in line with the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area would have about 796, against 795 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,994 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 14.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area at 4,390,913 people in 2025, up 0.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 1,768,816 households. The median household income in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area is $76,664 a year, 5% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.7% 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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area scores 53 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #176 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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn 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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Detroit-Warren-Dearborn 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 Detroit-Warren-Dearborn 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.