Groundwork

Child care · County · Missouri

Child care centers and preschools in Dent County, MO

How Dent County, MO 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

The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 3.

Listings
3
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$1.5M
On child care and other personal services · $275 a household
Spending per listing
$515K
49% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
5.3
9% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
14,584
+1.3% since 2020

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

Households in Dent County spend about $1.5M a year on child care and other personal services, or $275 per household, 53% below the U.S. average. That is about $515K of household spending for each center on map listings, 49% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

Dent County has 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. Per 10,000 households, that is 5.3, 9% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Official counts don’t publish a figure for child care services in Dent County, since they leave out counts under 3. Official counts list 21 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates put the population change in Dent County from 2020 to 2025 at +1.3%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). With 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings, Dent County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.

How Dent 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.

Child care and preschools in Dent County, MO compared with Missouri and the U.S.
MeasureDent CountyMissouriU.S.
Listings per 10k households5.35.95.8
Spending per listing$515K$679K$1M
Households per official establishmentn/a1,7141,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−2.2%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.3%+1.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$275$399$581
Median household income$56,312$70,702$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored29

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
21Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
30 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 Dent 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 Dent County

Population, 2025 estimate
14,584+1.3% since 2020
Households
5,618
Median age
44.5
Homes lived in by their owners
76%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
753 sq. mi.
People per square mile
19
Median household income
$56,312+33.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$73,407
Median home value
$167,500
Jobs located here
4,361
Daytime population
13,097Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Dent 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 Dent 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 Missouri

Every Missouri market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Missouri for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Missouri, with Dent County marked.

Top counties in Missouri

Counties in Missouri ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Warren County, MO7564.3$981K+9.2%#167 of 1,611
2Lincoln County, MO67135.7$748K+11.4%#351 of 1,611
3Platte County, MO65286.4$839K+6.7%#405 of 1,611
4Cass County, MO64255.8$782K+7.1%#440 of 1,611
5Jefferson County, MO63384.3$971K+2.7%#458 of 1,611
6Clay County, MO63525.1$901K+4.3%#464 of 1,611
7St. Charles County, MO631006.2$900K+4.9%#465 of 1,611
8Camden County, MO6173.9$984K+2.9%#520 of 1,611
9Taney County, MO5973.1$1M+1.7%#572 of 1,611
10Franklin County, MO58163.7$1M+3.1%#604 of 1,611
Dent County, MONot scored35.3$515K+1.3%

Other business types in Dent County

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

Questions

How many child care centers and preschools are in Dent County, MO?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 3 child care centers and preschools in Dent County. The listings count day care centers and preschools. No official count is published for child care services in Dent County: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts also show 21 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $1.5M a year, or $275 per household. That is 53% below the U.S. average (an index of 47, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $515K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 5,618 households in Dent County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Dent County has 5.3 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $515K, 49% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Dent County would have about 2, against 3 on map listings.

How fast is Dent County, MO growing?

Population estimates put Dent County at 14,584 people in 2025, up 1.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 5,618 households. Median household income in Dent County is $56,312, 30% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 33.8%, 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. Dent County has no market score for child care centers and preschools: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 3.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Dent 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 Dent 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.