Groundwork

Child care · County · Minnesota

Child care centers and preschools in Clearwater County, MN

How Clearwater County, MN compares with other counties and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
1
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$1.2M
On child care and other personal services · $354 a household
Spending per listing
$1.2M
Too few listings to compare
Listings per 10k households
3.0
Too few listings to compare
Population, 2025
8,647
+1.0% since 2020

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

Household spending on child care and other personal services in Clearwater County comes to about $1.2M a year: $354 per household, 39% below the U.S. average. That works out to $1.2M per center.

There is 1 child care center or preschool on map listings in Clearwater County as of September 2026. That is 3.0 per 10,000 households.

Official counts don’t publish a figure for child care services in Clearwater County, since they leave out counts under 3. Official counts list 23 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates put the population change in Clearwater County from 2020 to 2025 at +1.0%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Clearwater 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 Clearwater County, MN compared with Minnesota and the U.S.
MeasureClearwater CountyMinnesotaU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.06.05.8
Spending per listing$1.2M$833K$1M
Households per official establishmentn/a1,5671,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+3.5%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.0%+2.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$354$500$581
Median household income$64,475$89,062$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored43

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
n/a
Employees, 2023
n/a
Annual payroll, 2023
n/a
One-person businesses, 2023
23Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
10 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1The 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 Clearwater 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 Clearwater County

Population, 2025 estimate
8,647+1.0% since 2020
Households
3,339
Median age
42.2
Homes lived in by their owners
80%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
999 sq. mi.
People per square mile
9
Median household income
$64,475
Average household income
$82,836
Median home value
$192,100
Jobs located here
2,862
Daytime population
7,596Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Clearwater 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 Clearwater County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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 Clearwater 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
Clearwater County, MNNot scored13.0$1.2M+1.0%

Other business types in Clearwater County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many child care centers and preschools are in Clearwater County, MN?

As of September 2026, map listings count 1 child care center or preschool in Clearwater County. The listings count day care centers and preschools. No official count is published for child care services in Clearwater County: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts also show 23 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $1.2M a year, or $354 per household. That is 39% below the U.S. average (an index of 61, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1 child care center or preschool on map listings, it comes to $1.2M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,339 households in Clearwater County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Clearwater County has 1 child care center or preschool 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.

How fast is Clearwater County, MN growing?

Population estimates put Clearwater County at 8,647 people in 2025, up 1.0% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 3,339 households. Median household income in Clearwater County is $64,475, 20% 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. 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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Clearwater 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 Clearwater 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.