Child care · Metro area · Minnesota
Child care centers and preschools in the Duluth, MN-WI metro area
The child care centers and preschools in the Duluth, MN-WI metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 29 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #340 of 387 scored metro areas
#4 of 5 scored metro areas based in Minnesota
- Listings
- 80
- 7 chain locations (9%)
- Official establishments
- 59
- +3.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $46.7M
- On child care and other personal services · $388 a household
- Spending per listing
- $584K
- 42% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.6
- 14% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 281,219
- +0.2% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Duluth 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 Duluth 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
The Duluth metro area scores 29 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #340 of 387 scored metro areas and #4 of 5 scored metro areas based in Minnesota. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
As of September 2026, map listings count 80 child care centers and preschools in the Duluth metro area. Chain locations make up 9% of them, against 12% across the U.S. That is 6.6 per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Duluth metro area comes to about $46.7M a year: $388 per household, 33% below the U.S. average. That works out to $584K per center, 42% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Duluth metro area was 59 in 2023, up 3.5% from 2019. That is one for every 2,040 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $593K have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Duluth metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Duluth metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +0.2%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Duluth metro area 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.
| Measure | Duluth metro area | Minnesota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.6 | 6.0 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $584K | $833K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,040 | 1,567 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +3.5% | +3.5% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.2% | +2.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $388 | $500 | $581 |
| Median household income | $71,769 | $89,062 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 29 | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 59+3.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 709
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $18M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 280Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 807 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 47The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $593K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Duluth 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 Duluth metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 281,219+0.2% since 2020
- Households
- 120,365
- Median age
- 42.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 8,414 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 33
- Median household income
- $71,769
- Average household income
- $93,302
- Median home value
- $222,400
- Jobs located here
- 128,505
- Daytime population
- 284,674Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Duluth 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 Duluth 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 Minnesota
Every Minnesota market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Minnesota for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Minnesota (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Duluth metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Minnesota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI | 45 | 954 | 6.5 | $866K | +2.6% | #235 of 387 |
| 2Rochester, MN | 42 | 56 | 6.0 | $851K | +2.0% | #255 of 387 |
| Fargo, ND-MN | 35 | 64 | 5.8 | $739K | +7.7% | #292 of 387 |
| Sioux Falls, SD-MN | 34 | 85 | 6.9 | $632K | +9.5% | #304 of 387 |
| Grand Forks, ND-MN | 32 | 20 | 4.6 | $842K | +0.8% | #314 of 387 |
| 3St. Cloud, MN | 32 | 40 | 5.1 | $797K | +3.0% | #315 of 387 |
| La Crosse-Onalaska, WI-MN | 32 | 39 | 5.4 | $735K | +0.4% | #317 of 387 |
| 4Duluth, MN-WI | 29 | 80 | 6.6 | $584K | +0.2% | #340 of 387 |
| 5Mankato, MN | 25 | 24 | 5.9 | $690K | +1.2% | #358 of 387 |
Other business types in the Duluth 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 preschools29
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Duluth, MN-WI metro area?
The Duluth metro area has 80 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. 7 of them (9%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 59 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 3.5% from 2019. Official counts also show 280 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Duluth, MN-WI metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $46.7M a year, or $388 per household. That is 33% below the U.S. average (an index of 67, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 80 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $584K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 120,365 households in the Duluth metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Duluth, MN-WI metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Duluth metro area has 6.6 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $584K, 42% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Duluth metro area would have about 47, against 80 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,040 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 3.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Duluth, MN-WI metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Duluth metro area at 281,219 people in 2025, up 0.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 120,365 households. The median household income in the Duluth metro area is $71,769 a year, 11% 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 Duluth metro area scores 29 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #340 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 Duluth 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 Duluth metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Duluth 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 Duluth 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.