Child care · Metro area · Montana
Child care centers and preschools in the Billings, MT metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in the Billings, MT metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 43 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #250 of 387 scored metro areas
#3 of 5 scored metro areas based in Montana
- Listings
- 63
- 4 chain locations (6%)
- Official establishments
- 84
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $50.7M
- On child care and other personal services · $647 a household
- Spending per listing
- $805K
- 20% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.0
- 38% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 193,603
- +4.8% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Billings 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 Billings 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
Households in the Billings metro area spend about $50.7M a year on child care and other personal services, or $647 per household, 11% above the U.S. average. That works out to $805K per center, 20% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The Billings metro area has 63 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 6% of them, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 8.0 for every 10,000 households, 38% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 84 businesses with payroll in the Billings metro area classed as child care services, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 933 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 284 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Billings metro area grew 4.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For child care centers and preschools, the Billings metro area has a Groundwork market score of 43 (lower middle): #250 of 387 scored metro areas and #3 of 5 scored metro areas based in Montana.
How the Billings metro area compares
The same measures for Montana 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 | Billings metro area | Montana | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 8.0 | 7.5 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $805K | $807K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 933 | 940 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | +5.9% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.8% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $647 | $608 | $581 |
| Median household income | $77,194 | $72,509 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 43 | 39 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 840.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 615
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $14.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 284Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 634 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 51The 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 Billings 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 Billings metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 193,603+4.8% since 2020
- Households
- 78,371
- Median age
- 40.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 6,478 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 29
- Median household income
- $77,194+26.0% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $105,451
- Median home value
- $355,200
- Jobs located here
- 97,581
- Daytime population
- 192,076Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Billings 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 Billings 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 Montana
Every Montana market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Montana for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Montana, with the Billings metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Montana
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Bozeman, MT | 49 | 48 | 9.4 | $848K | +7.7% | #201 of 387 |
| 2Missoula, MT | 44 | 41 | 7.5 | $843K | +4.7% | #240 of 387 |
| 3Billings, MT | 43 | 63 | 8.0 | $805K | +4.8% | #250 of 387 |
| 4Helena, MT | 43 | 37 | 9.5 | $695K | +7.7% | #251 of 387 |
| 5Great Falls, MT | 36 | 23 | 6.5 | $862K | +0.7% | #286 of 387 |
Other business types in the Billings 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 preschools43
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Billings, MT metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 63 child care centers and preschools in the Billings metro area. 4 of them (6%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 84 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Another 284 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Billings, MT metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $50.7M a year, or $647 per household. That is 11% above the U.S. average (an index of 111, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 63 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $805K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 78,371 households in the Billings metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Billings, MT metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Billings metro area has 8.0 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 38% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $805K, 20% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Billings metro area would have about 51, against 63 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 933 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Billings, MT metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Billings metro area at 193,603 people in 2025, up 4.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 78,371 households. Median household income in the Billings metro area is $77,194, 4% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.0%, 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 Billings metro area scores 43 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #250 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 Billings 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 Billings metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Billings 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 Billings 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.