Groundwork

Child care · Small-town market · Mississippi

Child care centers and preschools in the Clarksdale, MS area

The child care centers and preschools in the Clarksdale, MS area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 2 out of 100: Very low

Ranked #454 of 454 scored small-town markets
#16 of 16 scored small-town markets based in Mississippi

Listings
11
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
9
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$2.2M
On child care and other personal services · $261 a household
Spending per listing
$200K
80% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
13.1
2.3 times the U.S.
Population, 2025
19,849
−6.5% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Clarksdale 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 Clarksdale area. 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

The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Clarksdale area is 2 (very low), #454 of 454 scored small-town markets and #16 of 16 scored small-town markets based in Mississippi. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 11 child care centers and preschools in the Clarksdale area. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 13.1, 2.3 times the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Households in the Clarksdale area spend about $2.2M a year on child care and other personal services, or $261 per household, 55% below the U.S. average. That works out to $200K per center, 80% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

In 2023, official counts showed 9 businesses with payroll in the Clarksdale area classed as child care services. That is one for every 934 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Clarksdale area declined 6.5% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Clarksdale area compares

The same measures for Mississippi 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 Clarksdale, MS area compared with Mississippi and the U.S.
MeasureClarksdale areaMississippiU.S.
Listings per 10k households13.16.25.8
Spending per listing$200K$591K$1M
Households per official establishment9341,4181,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+1.4%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−6.5%−0.1%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$261$369$581
Median household income$37,461$56,447$80,734
Groundwork market score212

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
9
Employees, 2023
175
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
132Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
110 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2The 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 Clarksdale 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 Clarksdale area

Population, 2025 estimate
19,849−6.5% since 2020
Households
8,404
Median age
35.9
Homes lived in by their owners
52%
Vehicles per household
1.5
Land area
553 sq. mi.
People per square mile
37
Median household income
$37,461+28.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$53,980
Median home value
$90,300
Jobs located here
6,633
Daytime population
19,131Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Child care and preschools across Mississippi

Every Mississippi market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Mississippi for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Mississippi, with the Clarksdale area marked.

Top small-town markets in Mississippi

Small-town markets in Mississippi ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Oxford, MS78114.6$943K+5.3%#30 of 454
2Starkville, MS56124.6$786K+0.8%#182 of 454
3Picayune, MS47156.9$532K+5.6%#261 of 454
4Laurel, MS40144.4$751K−1.5%#315 of 454
5Brookhaven, MS28107.6$458K+0.5%#393 of 454
6Tupelo, MS28479.1$421K+0.8%#394 of 454
7Vicksburg, MS26169.5$435K−6.3%#404 of 454
8Natchez, MS-LA23115.3$596K−0.9%#411 of 454
9Meridian, MS22226.3$530K−3.2%#418 of 454
10Columbus, MS122910.8$316K−2.7%#444 of 454
16Clarksdale, MS21113.1$200K−6.5%#454 of 454

Other business types in the Clarksdale area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many child care centers and preschools are in the Clarksdale, MS area?

There are 11 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Clarksdale 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 132 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Clarksdale, MS area spend on child care and other personal services?

About $2.2M a year, or $261 per household. That is 55% below the U.S. average (an index of 45, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 11 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $200K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,404 households in the Clarksdale area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Clarksdale, MS area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?

The Clarksdale area has 13.1 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 2.3 times the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $200K, 80% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Clarksdale area would have about 2, against 11 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 934 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is the Clarksdale, MS area growing?

Population estimates put the Clarksdale area at 19,849 people in 2025, down 6.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 8,404 households. The median household income in the Clarksdale area is $37,461 a year, 54% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 28.6% 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. 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 Clarksdale area scores 2 for child care centers and preschools (very low), #454 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 Clarksdale 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 Clarksdale area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Clarksdale 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 Clarksdale 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.