Child care · Small-town market · Michigan
Child care centers and preschools in the Petoskey, MI area
The child care centers and preschools in the Petoskey, MI area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #196 of 454 scored small-town markets
#2 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Michigan
- Listings
- 7
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 9
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $6.8M
- On child care and other personal services · $446 a household
- Spending per listing
- $968K
- 3% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.6
- 21% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 33,775
- −1.0% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Petoskey 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 Petoskey 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 7 child care centers and preschools in the Petoskey area. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That is 4.6 per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
At $446 per household (23% below the U.S. average), households in the Petoskey area spend about $6.8M a year on child care and other personal services. That is about $968K of household spending for each center on map listings, 3% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
In 2023, official counts showed 9 businesses with payroll in the Petoskey area classed as child care services. That is one for every 1,688 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 36 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in the Petoskey area from 2020 to 2025 at −1.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For child care centers and preschools, the Petoskey area has a Groundwork market score of 54 (upper middle): #196 of 454 scored small-town markets and #2 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Michigan.
How the Petoskey 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 | Petoskey area | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.6 | 4.7 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $968K | $888K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,688 | 1,950 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +14.5% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.0% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $446 | $416 | $581 |
| Median household income | $78,112 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 54 | 48 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 9
- Employees, 2023
- 67
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 36Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 70 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 Petoskey 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 Petoskey area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 33,775−1.0% since 2020
- Households
- 15,190
- Median age
- 46.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 468 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 73
- Median household income
- $78,112
- Average household income
- $109,768
- Median home value
- $315,700
- Jobs located here
- 15,430
- Daytime population
- 36,226Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Petoskey 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 Petoskey 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 Petoskey 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 Petoskey 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 preschools54
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Petoskey, MI area?
There are 7 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Petoskey area as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts also show 36 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Petoskey, MI area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $6.8M a year, or $446 per household. That is 23% below the U.S. average (an index of 77, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 7 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $968K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,190 households in the Petoskey area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Petoskey, MI area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Petoskey area has 4.6 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $968K, 3% 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 1,688 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Petoskey, MI area growing?
Population estimates put the Petoskey area at 33,775 people in 2025, down 1.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 15,190 households. The median household income in the Petoskey area is $78,112 a year, 3% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 Petoskey area scores 54 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #196 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 Petoskey 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 Petoskey area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Petoskey 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 Petoskey 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.