Child care · County · Missouri
Child care centers and preschools in Cape Girardeau County, MO
The child care centers and preschools in Cape Girardeau County, MO, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 49 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #842 of 1,611 scored counties
#14 of 55 scored counties in Missouri
- Listings
- 13
- 1 chain location (8%)
- Official establishments
- 20
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $12M
- On child care and other personal services · $370 a household
- Spending per listing
- $923K
- 8% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.0
- 31% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 83,999
- +2.7% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Cape Girardeau 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 Cape Girardeau County. 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 13 child care centers and preschools in Cape Girardeau County. One of them (8%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. That is 4.0 per 10,000 households, 31% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Households in Cape Girardeau County spend about $12M a year on child care and other personal services, or $370 per household, 36% below the U.S. average. That is about $923K of household spending for each center on map listings, 8% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Cape Girardeau County was 20 in 2023. That is one for every 1,623 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 139 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $170K has gone to businesses classed as child care services in Cape Girardeau County.
Population estimates put the population change in Cape Girardeau County from 2020 to 2025 at +2.7%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). Cape Girardeau County scores 49 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #842 of 1,611 scored counties and #14 of 55 scored counties in Missouri.
How Cape Girardeau County compares
The same measures for Missouri 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 | Cape Girardeau County | Missouri | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.0 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $923K | $679K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,623 | 1,714 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −2.2% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.7% | +1.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $370 | $399 | $581 |
| Median household income | $68,464 | $70,702 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 49 | 29 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 16 → 20
- Employees, 2023
- 196
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 139Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 131 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 12The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $170K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in Cape Girardeau 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 Cape Girardeau County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 83,999+2.7% since 2020
- Households
- 32,454
- Median age
- 39.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 67%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 579 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 143
- Median household income
- $68,464+27.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $89,147
- Median home value
- $220,700
- Jobs located here
- 39,481
- Daytime population
- 85,255Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Cape Girardeau 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 Cape Girardeau County. 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 Missouri
Every Missouri market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in Missouri for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Missouri, with Cape Girardeau County marked.
Top counties in Missouri
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Warren County, MO | 75 | 6 | 4.3 | $981K | +9.2% | #167 of 1,611 |
| 2Lincoln County, MO | 67 | 13 | 5.7 | $748K | +11.4% | #351 of 1,611 |
| 3Platte County, MO | 65 | 28 | 6.4 | $839K | +6.7% | #405 of 1,611 |
| 4Cass County, MO | 64 | 25 | 5.8 | $782K | +7.1% | #440 of 1,611 |
| 5Jefferson County, MO | 63 | 38 | 4.3 | $971K | +2.7% | #458 of 1,611 |
| 6Clay County, MO | 63 | 52 | 5.1 | $901K | +4.3% | #464 of 1,611 |
| 7St. Charles County, MO | 63 | 100 | 6.2 | $900K | +4.9% | #465 of 1,611 |
| 8Camden County, MO | 61 | 7 | 3.9 | $984K | +2.9% | #520 of 1,611 |
| 9Taney County, MO | 59 | 7 | 3.1 | $1M | +1.7% | #572 of 1,611 |
| 10Franklin County, MO | 58 | 16 | 3.7 | $1M | +3.1% | #604 of 1,611 |
| 14Cape Girardeau County, MO | 49 | 13 | 4.0 | $923K | +2.7% | #842 of 1,611 |
Other business types in Cape Girardeau County
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 preschools49
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in Cape Girardeau County, MO?
There are 13 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Cape Girardeau County as of September 2026. One of them (8%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 20 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts also show 139 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Cape Girardeau County, MO spend on child care and other personal services?
About $12M a year, or $370 per household. That is 36% below the U.S. average (an index of 64, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 13 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $923K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 32,454 households in Cape Girardeau County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Cape Girardeau County, MO compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
Cape Girardeau County has 4.0 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 31% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $923K, 8% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Cape Girardeau County would have about 12, against 13 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,623 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is Cape Girardeau County, MO growing?
Population estimates put Cape Girardeau County at 83,999 people in 2025, up 2.7% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 32,454 households. The median household income in Cape Girardeau County is $68,464 a year, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 27.4% 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. Cape Girardeau County scores 49 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #842 of 1,611 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Cape Girardeau 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 Cape Girardeau County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Cape Girardeau 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 Cape Girardeau 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.