Groundwork

Child care · County · Minnesota

Child care centers and preschools in Carver County, MN

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #731 of 1,611 scored counties
#18 of 44 scored counties in Minnesota

Listings
35
12 chain locations (34%)
Official establishments
37
+54.2% since 2019
Household spending a year
$28.7M
On child care and other personal services · $698 a household
Spending per listing
$821K
18% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
8.5
47% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
114,379
+6.6% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Carver 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 Carver County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey 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 35 child care centers and preschools in Carver County. Chain locations make up 34% of them, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 8.5 for every 10,000 households, 47% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Household spending on child care and other personal services in Carver County comes to about $28.7M a year: $698 per household, 20% above the U.S. average. That works out to $821K per center, 18% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Carver County was 37 in 2023, up 54.2% from 2019. That is one for every 1,113 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 157 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $4.5M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in Carver County.

Population estimates show Carver County grew 6.6% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in Carver County is 54 (upper middle), #731 of 1,611 scored counties and #18 of 44 scored counties in Minnesota.

How Carver County compares

The same measures for Minnesota 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 Carver County, MN compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureCarver CountyMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households8.56.05.8
Spending per listing$821K$833K$1M
Households per official establishment1,1131,5671,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+54.2%+3.5%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+6.6%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$698$500$581
Median household income$125,946$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market score5443

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
24 → 37+54.2% over the period
Employees, 2023
646
Annual payroll, 2023
$20.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
157Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
3512 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
29The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$4.5M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in Carver 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 Carver County

Population, 2025 estimate
114,379+6.6% since 2020
Households
41,175
Median age
39.9
Homes lived in by their owners
81%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
354 sq. mi.
People per square mile
311
Median household income
$125,946+24.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$159,987
Median home value
$453,600
Jobs located here
38,239
Daytime population
88,928Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Carver 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 Carver 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 Minnesota

Every Minnesota market ranked →

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

Top counties in Minnesota

Counties in Minnesota ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Clay County, MN7983.0$1.4M+3.6%#96 of 1,611
2Crow Wing County, MN7862.0$1.9M+4.3%#107 of 1,611
3Wright County, MN75275.0$1.1M+11.1%#161 of 1,611
4Otter Tail County, MN7172.8$1.4M+1.6%#230 of 1,611
5Isanti County, MN7074.3$996K+7.3%#264 of 1,611
6Becker County, MN6753.5$1.1M+0.9%#336 of 1,611
7Winona County, MN6773.5$1.1M+1.8%#338 of 1,611
8Sherburne County, MN66195.3$1M+6.8%#368 of 1,611
9Washington County, MN66706.6$960K+6.9%#372 of 1,611
10Douglas County, MN6563.4$1.2M+2.6%#388 of 1,611
18Carver County, MN54358.5$821K+6.6%#731 of 1,611

Other business types in Carver 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 Carver County, MN?

There are 35 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Carver County as of September 2026. 12 of them (34%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 37 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 54.2% from 2019. Official counts also show 157 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $28.7M a year, or $698 per household. That is 20% above the U.S. average (an index of 120, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 35 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $821K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 41,175 households in Carver County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Carver County has 8.5 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 47% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $821K, 18% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Carver County would have about 29, against 35 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,113 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 54.2% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.

How fast is Carver County, MN growing?

Population estimates put Carver County at 114,379 people in 2025, up 6.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 41,175 households. The median household income in Carver County is $125,946 a year, 56% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.1% 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. Carver County scores 54 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #731 of 1,611 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Carver 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 Carver 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.