Groundwork

Child care · County · Missouri

Child care centers and preschools in Lawrence County, MO

The child care centers and preschools in Lawrence County, MO, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 55 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #688 of 1,611 scored counties
#11 of 55 scored counties in Missouri

Listings
5
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
6
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$4.6M
On child care and other personal services · $313 a household
Spending per listing
$913K
9% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.4
41% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
39,401
+3.7% since 2020

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 5 child care centers and preschools in Lawrence County. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 3.4 for every 10,000 households, 41% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Household spending on child care and other personal services in Lawrence County comes to about $4.6M a year: $313 per household, 46% below the U.S. average. That works out to $913K per center, 9% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Lawrence County was 6 in 2023. That is one for every 2,434 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 62 one-person businesses without payroll.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Lawrence County grew 3.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For child care centers and preschools, Lawrence County has a Groundwork market score of 55 (upper middle): #688 of 1,611 scored counties and #11 of 55 scored counties in Missouri.

How Lawrence 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 Lawrence County, MO compared with Missouri and the U.S.
MeasureLawrence CountyMissouriU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.45.95.8
Spending per listing$913K$679K$1M
Households per official establishment2,4341,7141,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−2.2%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.7%+1.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$313$399$581
Median household income$61,215$70,702$80,734
Groundwork market score5529

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
6 → 6
Employees, 2023
43
Annual payroll, 2023
$1M
One-person businesses, 2023
62Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
50 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
5The 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 Lawrence 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 Lawrence County

Population, 2025 estimate
39,401+3.7% since 2020
Households
14,602
Median age
40.2
Homes lived in by their owners
74%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
612 sq. mi.
People per square mile
63
Median household income
$61,215+36.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$74,676
Median home value
$175,100
Jobs located here
8,611
Daytime population
29,516Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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
11Lawrence County, MO5553.4$913K+3.7%#688 of 1,611

Other business types in Lawrence 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 Lawrence County, MO?

There are 5 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Lawrence County as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 62 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $4.6M a year, or $313 per household. That is 46% below the U.S. average (an index of 54, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $913K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 14,602 households in Lawrence County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Lawrence County has 3.4 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 41% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $913K, 9% below the U.S. figure of $1M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,434 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is Lawrence County, MO growing?

Population estimates put Lawrence County at 39,401 people in 2025, up 3.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 14,602 households. The median household income in Lawrence County is $61,215 a year, 24% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 36.8% 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. Lawrence County scores 55 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #688 of 1,611 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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.