Groundwork

Child care · County · Michigan

Child care centers and preschools in Kalkaska County, MI

The child care centers and preschools in Kalkaska County, MI, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 2.

Listings
2
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
5
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$2.4M
On child care and other personal services · $311 a household
Spending per listing
$1.2M
Too few listings to compare
Listings per 10k households
2.6
Too few listings to compare
Population, 2025
18,693
+4.3% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Kalkaska 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 Kalkaska 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

At $311 per household (46% below the U.S. average), households in Kalkaska County spend about $2.4M a year on child care and other personal services. Spread across 2 child care centers and preschools, that is $1.2M per center.

There are 2 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Kalkaska County as of September 2026. That is 2.6 per 10,000 households.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Kalkaska County was 5 in 2023. That is one for every 1,558 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 12 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates put the population change in Kalkaska County from 2020 to 2025 at +4.3%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). With 2 child care centers and preschools on map listings, Kalkaska County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.

How Kalkaska County 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.

Child care and preschools in Kalkaska County, MI compared with Michigan and the U.S.
MeasureKalkaska CountyMichiganU.S.
Listings per 10k households2.64.75.8
Spending per listing$1.2M$888K$1M
Households per official establishment1,5581,9501,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+14.5%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.3%+0.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$311$416$581
Median household income$68,578$72,875$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored48

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
5 → 5
Employees, 2023
49
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
12Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
20 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2The 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 Kalkaska 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 Kalkaska County

Population, 2025 estimate
18,693+4.3% since 2020
Households
7,789
Median age
44.2
Homes lived in by their owners
88%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
560 sq. mi.
People per square mile
33
Median household income
$68,578+46.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$81,688
Median home value
$188,900
Jobs located here
4,285
Daytime population
15,796Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Kalkaska 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 Kalkaska 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 Michigan

Every Michigan market ranked →

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

Top counties in Michigan

Counties in Michigan ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Barry County, MI7252.0$2M+2.2%#208 of 1,611
2Ottawa County, MI72534.8$1M+3.9%#222 of 1,611
3Cass County, MI7062.8$1.4M+0.2%#253 of 1,611
4Allegan County, MI68173.7$1.1M+2.1%#312 of 1,611
5Macomb County, MI671273.5$1.2M+0.7%#334 of 1,611
6St. Clair County, MI66202.9$1.3M+0.1%#355 of 1,611
7Livingston County, MI64425.5$1M+1.7%#426 of 1,611
8Oakland County, MI632885.4$1M+1.2%#454 of 1,611
9Ionia County, MI5752.1$1.7M−0.5%#618 of 1,611
10Kent County, MI571355.3$862K+2.5%#637 of 1,611
Kalkaska County, MINot scored22.6$1.2M+4.3%

Other business types in Kalkaska 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 Kalkaska County, MI?

As of September 2026, map listings count 2 child care centers and preschools in Kalkaska County. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 5 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 12 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $2.4M a year, or $311 per household. That is 46% below the U.S. average (an index of 54, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.2M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 7,789 households in Kalkaska County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Kalkaska County has 2 child care centers and preschools on map listings, too few for a steady comparison with the U.S. rate. 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 1,558 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is Kalkaska County, MI growing?

Population estimates put Kalkaska County at 18,693 people in 2025, up 4.3% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 7,789 households. Median household income in Kalkaska County is $68,578, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 46.2%, 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. Kalkaska County has no market score for child care centers and preschools: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 2.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Kalkaska 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 Kalkaska 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.