Groundwork

Child care · County · Missouri

Child care centers and preschools in Howard County, MO

How Howard 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 1.

Listings
1
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$1.2M
On child care and other personal services · $331 a household
Spending per listing
$1.2M
Too few listings to compare
Listings per 10k households
2.8
Too few listings to compare
Population, 2025
10,180
+0.3% since 2020

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

At $331 per household (43% below the U.S. average), households in Howard County spend about $1.2M a year on child care and other personal services. That works out to $1.2M per center.

There is 1 child care center or preschool on map listings in Howard County as of September 2026. That is 2.8 per 10,000 households.

Official counts don’t publish a figure for child care services in Howard County, since they leave out counts under 3. Official counts also show 29 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show Howard County grew 0.3% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). With 1 child care center or preschool on map listings, Howard County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.

How Howard 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 Howard County, MO compared with Missouri and the U.S.
MeasureHoward CountyMissouriU.S.
Listings per 10k households2.85.95.8
Spending per listing$1.2M$679K$1M
Households per official establishmentn/a1,7141,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−2.2%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.3%+1.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$331$399$581
Median household income$65,938$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
29Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
10 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
1The 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 Howard 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 Howard County

Population, 2025 estimate
10,180+0.3% since 2020
Households
3,585
Median age
39.5
Homes lived in by their owners
79%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
464 sq. mi.
People per square mile
22
Median household income
$65,938+25.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$83,071
Median home value
$159,400
Jobs located here
2,720
Daytime population
8,278Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Howard 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 Howard 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 Howard 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
Howard County, MONot scored12.8$1.2M+0.3%

Other business types in Howard 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 Howard County, MO?

As of September 2026, map listings count 1 child care center or preschool in Howard County. The listings count day care centers and preschools. No official count is published for child care services in Howard County: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts list 29 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $1.2M a year, or $331 per household. That is 43% below the U.S. average (an index of 57, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1 child care center or preschool on map listings, it comes to $1.2M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,585 households in Howard County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Howard County has 1 child care center or preschool on map listings, too few for a steady comparison with the U.S. rate. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending.

How fast is Howard County, MO growing?

Population estimates put Howard County at 10,180 people in 2025, up 0.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 3,585 households. Median household income in Howard County is $65,938, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.1%, 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. Howard County has no market score for child care centers and preschools: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 1.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Howard 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 Howard 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.