Child care · Small-town market · Michigan
Child care centers and preschools in the Iron Mountain, MI-WI area
How the Iron Mountain, MI-WI area compares with other small-town markets 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 #343 of 454 scored small-town markets
#9 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Michigan
- Listings
- 10
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 5
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $4.6M
- On child care and other personal services · $325 a household
- Spending per listing
- $458K
- 54% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 7.1
- 22% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 30,575
- +0.4% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Iron Mountain 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 Iron Mountain 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
For child care centers and preschools, the Iron Mountain area has a Groundwork market score of 37 (lower middle): #343 of 454 scored small-town markets and #9 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Michigan. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Iron Mountain area comes to about $4.6M a year: $325 per household, 44% below the U.S. average. Spread across 10 child care centers and preschools, that is $458K per center, 54% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
There are 10 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Iron Mountain area as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That is 7.1 per 10,000 households, 22% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Iron Mountain area was 5 in 2023. That is one for every 2,820 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $235K has gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Iron Mountain area. Population estimates show the Iron Mountain area grew 0.4% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Iron Mountain 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 | Iron Mountain area | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 7.1 | 4.7 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $458K | $888K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,820 | 1,950 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +14.5% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.4% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $325 | $416 | $581 |
| Median household income | $64,552 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 37 | 48 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5
- Employees, 2023
- 23
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $533K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 11Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 100 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 5The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $235K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Iron Mountain 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 Iron Mountain area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 30,575+0.4% since 2020
- Households
- 14,102
- Median age
- 47.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 84%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,249 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 24
- Median household income
- $64,552+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $81,223
- Median home value
- $157,300
- Jobs located here
- 15,062
- Daytime population
- 33,133Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Iron Mountain 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 Iron Mountain 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 small-town markets in Michigan for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Michigan (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Iron Mountain area marked.
Top small-town markets in Michigan
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Holland, MI | 76 | 17 | 3.7 | $1.1M | +2.1% | #35 of 454 |
| 2Petoskey, MI | 54 | 7 | 4.6 | $968K | −1.0% | #196 of 454 |
| Marinette, WI-MI | 53 | 10 | 3.4 | $917K | +0.3% | #205 of 454 |
| 3Owosso, MI | 43 | 14 | 5.0 | $693K | −0.4% | #292 of 454 |
| 4Coldwater, MI | 41 | 9 | 5.3 | $602K | +2.5% | #311 of 454 |
| 5Marquette, MI | 39 | 16 | 5.7 | $596K | +2.3% | #320 of 454 |
| 6Houghton, MI | 38 | 8 | 5.2 | $666K | +1.8% | #326 of 454 |
| 7Mount Pleasant, MI | 37 | 11 | 4.4 | $713K | +0.3% | #334 of 454 |
| 8Big Rapids, MI | 37 | 10 | 6.0 | $508K | +4.7% | #340 of 454 |
| 9Iron Mountain, MI-WI | 37 | 10 | 7.1 | $458K | +0.4% | #343 of 454 |
Other business types in the Iron Mountain 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 Iron Mountain, MI-WI area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 10 child care centers and preschools in the Iron Mountain area. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 11 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Iron Mountain, MI-WI area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $4.6M a year, or $325 per household. That is 44% below the U.S. average (an index of 56, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $458K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 14,102 households in the Iron Mountain area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Iron Mountain, MI-WI area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Iron Mountain area has 7.1 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 22% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $458K, 54% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Iron Mountain area would have about 5, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,820 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Iron Mountain, MI-WI area growing?
Population estimates put the Iron Mountain area at 30,575 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 14,102 households. Median household income in the Iron Mountain area is $64,552, 20% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.8%, 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 Iron Mountain area scores 37 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #343 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 Iron Mountain 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 Iron Mountain area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Iron Mountain 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 Iron Mountain 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.