Groundwork

Child care · County · Missouri

Child care centers and preschools in Wayne County, MO

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

Groundwork market score

Not scored

The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 2.

Listings
2
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
4
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$1.1M
On child care and other personal services · $247 a household
Spending per listing
$571K
Too few listings to compare
Listings per 10k households
4.3
Too few listings to compare
Population, 2025
10,782
−1.4% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Wayne 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 Wayne County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

Household spending on child care and other personal services in Wayne County comes to about $1.1M a year: $247 per household, 57% below the U.S. average. That is about $571K of household spending for each center on map listings.

Wayne County has 2 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. That is 4.3 per 10,000 households.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Wayne County was 4 in 2023. That is one for every 1,156 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 12 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Population estimates put the population change in Wayne County from 2020 to 2025 at −1.4%, against +3.1% for the U.S. With 2 child care centers and preschools on map listings, Wayne County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.

How Wayne 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 Wayne County, MO compared with Missouri and the U.S.
MeasureWayne CountyMissouriU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.35.95.8
Spending per listing$571K$679K$1M
Households per official establishment1,1561,7141,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a−2.2%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.4%+1.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$247$399$581
Median household income$47,226$70,702$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored29

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
4 → 4
Employees, 2023
34
Annual payroll, 2023
$720K
One-person businesses, 2023
12Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
20 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 Wayne 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 Wayne County

Population, 2025 estimate
10,782−1.4% since 2020
Households
4,623
Median age
46.2
Homes lived in by their owners
75%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
759 sq. mi.
People per square mile
14
Median household income
$47,226+37.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$57,410
Median home value
$107,400
Jobs located here
1,955
Daytime population
9,019Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Wayne 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 Wayne County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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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 Wayne 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
Wayne County, MONot scored24.3$571K−1.4%

Other business types in Wayne 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 Wayne County, MO?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 2 child care centers and preschools in Wayne County. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 4 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 12 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $1.1M a year, or $247 per household. That is 57% below the U.S. average (an index of 43, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 2 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $571K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 4,623 households in Wayne County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Wayne County has 2 child care centers and preschools on map listings, too few for a steady comparison with the U.S. rate. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Wayne County would have about 1, against 2 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,156 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is Wayne County, MO growing?

Population estimates put Wayne County at 10,782 people in 2025, down 1.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 4,623 households. Median household income in Wayne County is $47,226, 42% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 37.6%, 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. Wayne County has no market score for child care centers and preschools: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 2.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Wayne 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 Wayne 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.