Child care · Small-town market · Missouri
Child care centers and preschools in the Sikeston, MO area
How the Sikeston, MO area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 18 out of 100: Low
Ranked #430 of 454 scored small-town markets
#10 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Missouri
- Listings
- 17
- 2 chain locations (12%)
- Official establishments
- 14
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $6.3M
- On child care and other personal services · $318 a household
- Spending per listing
- $371K
- 63% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.6
- 48% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 49,978
- −0.3% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Sikeston 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 Sikeston 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 Sikeston area scores 18 (low) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #430 of 454 scored small-town markets and #10 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Missouri. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Households in the Sikeston area spend about $6.3M a year on child care and other personal services, or $318 per household, 45% below the U.S. average. That is about $371K of household spending for each center on map listings, 63% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The Sikeston area has 17 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 12% of them, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 8.6 for every 10,000 households, 48% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 14 businesses with payroll in the Sikeston area classed as child care services. That is one for every 1,415 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Sikeston area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Sikeston 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 | Sikeston area | Missouri | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 8.6 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $371K | $679K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,415 | 1,714 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/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 | $318 | $399 | $581 |
| Median household income | $59,476 | $70,702 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 18 | 29 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 14
- Employees, 2023
- 127
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 92Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 172 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 6The 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 the Sikeston 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 Sikeston area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 49,978−0.3% since 2020
- Households
- 19,809
- Median age
- 40.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 832 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 60
- Median household income
- $59,476
- Average household income
- $77,543
- Median home value
- $143,300
- Jobs located here
- 18,301
- Daytime population
- 47,099Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Sikeston 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 Sikeston 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 Sikeston 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 |
| 10Sikeston, MO | 18 | 17 | 8.6 | $371K | −0.3% | #430 of 454 |
Other business types in the Sikeston 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 preschools18
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Sikeston, MO area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 17 child care centers and preschools in the Sikeston area. 2 of them (12%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 92 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Sikeston, MO area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $6.3M a year, or $318 per household. That is 45% below the U.S. average (an index of 55, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 17 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $371K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 19,809 households in the Sikeston area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Sikeston, MO area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Sikeston area has 8.6 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 48% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $371K, 63% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Sikeston area would have about 6, against 17 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,415 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Sikeston, MO area growing?
Population estimates put the Sikeston area at 49,978 people in 2025, down 0.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 19,809 households. Median household income in the Sikeston area is $59,476, 26% 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 Sikeston area scores 18 for child care centers and preschools (low), #430 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 Sikeston 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 Sikeston area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Sikeston 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 Sikeston 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.