Child care · Metro area · Michigan
Child care centers and preschools in the Traverse City, MI metro area
How the Traverse City, 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 52 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #182 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan
- Listings
- 29
- 1 chain location (3%)
- Official establishments
- 34
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $28M
- On child care and other personal services · $429 a household
- Spending per listing
- $967K
- 3% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.4
- 24% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 156,972
- +2.2% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Traverse City 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 Traverse City 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 29 child care centers and preschools in the Traverse City metro area. One of them (3%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 4.4, 24% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Traverse City metro area comes to about $28M a year: $429 per household, 26% below the U.S. average. That works out to $967K per center, 3% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
In 2023, official counts showed 34 businesses with payroll in the Traverse City metro area classed as child care services, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 1,924 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 140 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in the Traverse City metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.2%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Traverse City metro area is 52 (upper middle), #182 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 15 scored metro areas based in Michigan.
How the Traverse City 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 | Traverse City metro area | Michigan | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.4 | 4.7 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $967K | $888K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,924 | 1,950 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +14.5% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.2% | +0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $429 | $416 | $581 |
| Median household income | $80,889 | $72,875 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 52 | 48 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 340.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 243
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $7.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 140Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 291 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 28The 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 Traverse City 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 Traverse City metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 156,972+2.2% since 2020
- Households
- 65,429
- Median age
- 46.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 82%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,691 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 92
- Median household income
- $80,889+32.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $106,351
- Median home value
- $324,300
- Jobs located here
- 61,451
- Daytime population
- 155,130Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Traverse City 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 Traverse City 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 Traverse City 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 Traverse City 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 preschools52
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Traverse City, MI metro area?
The Traverse City metro area has 29 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (3%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 34 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Official counts also show 140 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Traverse City, MI metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $28M a year, or $429 per household. That is 26% below the U.S. average (an index of 74, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 29 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $967K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 65,429 households in the Traverse City metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Traverse City, MI metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Traverse City metro area has 4.4 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 24% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $967K, 3% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Traverse City metro area would have about 28, against 29 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,924 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Traverse City, MI metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Traverse City metro area at 156,972 people in 2025, up 2.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 65,429 households. The median household income in the Traverse City metro area is $80,889 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.6% 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 Traverse City metro area scores 52 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #182 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 Traverse City 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 Traverse City metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Traverse City 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 Traverse City 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.