Child care · Metro area · Missouri
Child care centers and preschools in the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area
The child care centers and preschools in the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 38 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #280 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri
- Listings
- 665
- 91 chain locations (14%)
- Official establishments
- 660
- −1.8% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $534.4M
- On child care and other personal services · $461 a household
- Spending per listing
- $804K
- 20% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.7
- 2% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 2,814,421
- −0.2% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the St. Louis metro 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 St. Louis metro 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 665 child care centers and preschools in the St. Louis metro area. Chain locations make up 14% of them, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 5.7, 2% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the St. Louis metro area comes to about $534.4M a year: $461 per household, 21% below the U.S. average. That works out to $804K per center, 20% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
In 2023, official counts showed 660 businesses with payroll in the St. Louis metro area classed as child care services, down 1.8% from 2019. That is one for every 1,758 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 3,970 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 48 SBA-backed loans worth $43M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the St. Louis metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the St. Louis metro area declined 0.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For child care centers and preschools, the St. Louis metro area has a Groundwork market score of 38 (lower middle): #280 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 8 scored metro areas based in Missouri.
How the St. Louis metro 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 | St. Louis metro area | Missouri | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.7 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $804K | $679K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,758 | 1,714 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −1.8% | −2.2% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.2% | +1.9% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $461 | $399 | $581 |
| Median household income | $80,196 | $70,702 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 38 | 29 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 660−1.8% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 9,869
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $297M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 3,970Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 66591 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 533The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 48
- Amount
- $43M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the St. Louis metro 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 St. Louis metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 2,814,421−0.2% since 2020
- Households
- 1,160,386
- Median age
- 40.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 70%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 7,864 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 357
- Median household income
- $80,196+25.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $109,353
- Median home value
- $244,800
- Jobs located here
- 1,400,208
- Daytime population
- 2,847,124Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the St. Louis metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 St. Louis metro 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 metro areas in Missouri for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Missouri, with the St. Louis metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Missouri
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Kansas City, MO-KS | 47 | 539 | 6.0 | $778K | +3.4% | #223 of 387 |
| 2St. Joseph, MO-KS | 40 | 17 | 3.6 | $957K | −2.0% | #260 of 387 |
| 3Cape Girardeau, MO-IL | 39 | 15 | 3.9 | $915K | +1.7% | #271 of 387 |
| 4Springfield, MO | 39 | 111 | 5.6 | $630K | +5.1% | #274 of 387 |
| 5St. Louis, MO-IL | 38 | 665 | 5.7 | $804K | −0.2% | #280 of 387 |
| 6Joplin, MO-KS | 28 | 55 | 6.9 | $471K | +3.9% | #343 of 387 |
| 7Columbia, MO | 24 | 68 | 7.9 | $524K | +3.9% | #364 of 387 |
| 8Jefferson City, MO | 16 | 58 | 9.9 | $385K | +2.2% | #379 of 387 |
Other business types in the St. Louis metro 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 preschools38
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area?
The St. Louis metro area has 665 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. 91 of them (14%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 660 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, down 1.8% from 2019. Another 3,970 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $534.4M a year, or $461 per household. That is 21% below the U.S. average (an index of 79, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 665 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $804K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 1,160,386 households in the St. Louis metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The St. Louis metro area has 5.7 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $804K, 20% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the St. Louis metro area would have about 533, against 665 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,758 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count fell 1.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the St. Louis, MO-IL metro area growing?
Population estimates put the St. Louis metro area at 2,814,421 people in 2025, down 0.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 1,160,386 households. The median household income in the St. Louis metro area is $80,196 a year, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 25.9% 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. The St. Louis metro area scores 38 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #280 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the St. Louis metro 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 St. Louis metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the St. Louis metro 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 St. Louis metro 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.