Child care · Small-town market · Missouri
Child care centers and preschools in the Poplar Bluff, MO area
The child care centers and preschools in the Poplar Bluff, MO area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 14 out of 100: Low
Ranked #439 of 454 scored small-town markets
#14 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Missouri
- Listings
- 11
- 1 chain location (9%)
- Official establishments
- 15
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $4.7M
- On child care and other personal services · $283 a household
- Spending per listing
- $428K
- 57% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.6
- 14% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 41,904
- −0.4% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Poplar Bluff 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 Poplar Bluff 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
The Poplar Bluff area scores 14 (low) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #439 of 454 scored small-town markets and #14 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Missouri. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 11 child care centers and preschools in the Poplar Bluff area. One of them (9%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.6, 14% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Poplar Bluff area comes to about $4.7M a year: $283 per household, 51% below the U.S. average. That is about $428K of household spending for each center on map listings, 57% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Poplar Bluff area was 15 in 2023. That is one for every 1,106 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $250K has gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Poplar Bluff area. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Poplar Bluff area declined 0.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Poplar Bluff area 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 | Poplar Bluff area | Missouri | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.6 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $428K | $679K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,106 | 1,714 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −2.2% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.4% | +1.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $283 | $399 | $581 |
| Median household income | $49,089 | $70,702 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 14 | 29 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 15
- Employees, 2023
- 186
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $5.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 53Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 111 chain location
- 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
- 1
- Amount
- $250K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Poplar Bluff 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 Poplar Bluff area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 41,904−0.4% since 2020
- Households
- 16,594
- Median age
- 40.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 65%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.7
- Land area
- 695 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 60
- Median household income
- $49,089
- Average household income
- $67,066
- Median home value
- $145,100
- Jobs located here
- 18,059
- Daytime population
- 43,334Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Poplar Bluff 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 Poplar Bluff 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 Missouri
Every Missouri market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Missouri for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Missouri (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Poplar Bluff area marked.
Top small-town markets in Missouri
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Branson, MO | 65 | 7 | 3.1 | $1M | +1.7% | #114 of 454 |
| 2Kirksville, MO | 52 | 6 | 5.8 | $585K | +1.9% | #220 of 454 |
| 3Lebanon, MO | 48 | 7 | 4.8 | $576K | +2.5% | #250 of 454 |
| 4Rolla, MO | 46 | 9 | 5.2 | $626K | +1.6% | #270 of 454 |
| Quincy, IL-MO | 46 | 18 | 5.8 | $601K | −2.0% | #271 of 454 |
| 5Sedalia, MO | 41 | 8 | 4.7 | $656K | +2.9% | #308 of 454 |
| 6Warrensburg, MO | 36 | 14 | 6.6 | $500K | +4.9% | #348 of 454 |
| 7Fort Leonard Wood, MO | 34 | 9 | 5.3 | $599K | +0.8% | #357 of 454 |
| 8Hannibal, MO | 29 | 10 | 6.5 | $493K | +0.4% | #389 of 454 |
| 9West Plains, MO | 26 | 10 | 6.3 | $456K | +2.5% | #402 of 454 |
| 14Poplar Bluff, MO | 14 | 11 | 6.6 | $428K | −0.4% | #439 of 454 |
Other business types in the Poplar Bluff 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 preschools14
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Poplar Bluff, MO area?
There are 11 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Poplar Bluff area as of September 2026. One of them (9%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 53 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Poplar Bluff, MO area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $4.7M a year, or $283 per household. That is 51% below the U.S. average (an index of 49, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 11 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $428K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 16,594 households in the Poplar Bluff area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Poplar Bluff, MO area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Poplar Bluff area has 6.6 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 14% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $428K, 57% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Poplar Bluff area would have about 5, against 11 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,106 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Poplar Bluff, MO area growing?
Population estimates put the Poplar Bluff area at 41,904 people in 2025, down 0.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 16,594 households. The median household income in the Poplar Bluff area is $49,089 a year, 39% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 Poplar Bluff area scores 14 for child care centers and preschools (low), #439 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 Poplar Bluff 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 Poplar Bluff area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Poplar Bluff 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 Poplar Bluff 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.