Child care · Small-town market · Mississippi
Child care centers and preschools in the Laurel, MS area
How the Laurel, MS area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 40 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #315 of 454 scored small-town markets
#4 of 16 scored small-town markets based in Mississippi
- Listings
- 14
- 1 chain location (7%)
- Official establishments
- 17
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $10.5M
- On child care and other personal services · $332 a household
- Spending per listing
- $751K
- 25% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.4
- 24% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 82,281
- −1.5% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Laurel 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 Laurel 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
Households in the Laurel area spend about $10.5M a year on child care and other personal services, or $332 per household, 43% below the U.S. average. Spread across 14 child care centers and preschools, that is $751K per center, 25% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The Laurel area has 14 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (7%) 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.
Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Laurel area in 2023. That is one for every 1,859 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 217 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $495K has gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Laurel area.
Population estimates show the Laurel area declined 1.5% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Laurel area scores 40 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #315 of 454 scored small-town markets and #4 of 16 scored small-town markets based in Mississippi.
How the Laurel 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.
| Measure | Laurel area | Mississippi | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.4 | 6.2 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $751K | $591K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,859 | 1,418 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +1.4% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.5% | −0.1% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $332 | $369 | $581 |
| Median household income | $51,236 | $56,447 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 40 | 12 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 17
- Employees, 2023
- 223
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 217Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 141 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 11The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $495K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Laurel 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 Laurel area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 82,281−1.5% since 2020
- Households
- 31,604
- Median age
- 39.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,371 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 60
- Median household income
- $51,236+26.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $73,808
- Median home value
- $132,900
- Jobs located here
- 32,859
- Daytime population
- 82,735Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Laurel 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 Laurel 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 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 Laurel area marked.
Top small-town markets in Mississippi
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Oxford, MS | 78 | 11 | 4.6 | $943K | +5.3% | #30 of 454 |
| 2Starkville, MS | 56 | 12 | 4.6 | $786K | +0.8% | #182 of 454 |
| 3Picayune, MS | 47 | 15 | 6.9 | $532K | +5.6% | #261 of 454 |
| 4Laurel, MS | 40 | 14 | 4.4 | $751K | −1.5% | #315 of 454 |
| 5Brookhaven, MS | 28 | 10 | 7.6 | $458K | +0.5% | #393 of 454 |
| 6Tupelo, MS | 28 | 47 | 9.1 | $421K | +0.8% | #394 of 454 |
| 7Vicksburg, MS | 26 | 16 | 9.5 | $435K | −6.3% | #404 of 454 |
| 8Natchez, MS-LA | 23 | 11 | 5.3 | $596K | −0.9% | #411 of 454 |
| 9Meridian, MS | 22 | 22 | 6.3 | $530K | −3.2% | #418 of 454 |
| 10Columbus, MS | 12 | 29 | 10.8 | $316K | −2.7% | #444 of 454 |
Other business types in the Laurel 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 preschools40
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Laurel, MS area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 14 child care centers and preschools in the Laurel area. One of them (7%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 217 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Laurel, MS area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $10.5M a year, or $332 per household. That is 43% below the U.S. average (an index of 57, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $751K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 31,604 households in the Laurel area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Laurel, MS area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Laurel 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 $751K, 25% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Laurel area would have about 11, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,859 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Laurel, MS area growing?
Population estimates put the Laurel area at 82,281 people in 2025, down 1.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 31,604 households. Median household income in the Laurel area is $51,236, 37% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.2%, 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 Laurel area scores 40 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #315 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 Laurel 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 Laurel area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Laurel 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 Laurel 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.