Groundwork

Child care · County · Montana

Child care centers and preschools in Fergus County, MT

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in Fergus County, MT, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 1.

Listings
1
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
8
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$2.5M
On child care and other personal services · $472 a household
Spending per listing
$2.5M
Too few listings to compare
Listings per 10k households
1.9
Too few listings to compare
Population, 2025
11,825
+3.1% since 2020

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

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

What this means

At $472 per household (19% below the U.S. average), households in Fergus County spend about $2.5M a year on child care and other personal services. That is about $2.5M of household spending for each center on map listings.

Fergus County has 1 child care center or preschool on map listings as of September 2026. That is 1.9 per 10,000 households.

In 2023, official counts showed 8 businesses with payroll in Fergus County classed as child care services. That is one for every 663 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 11 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates put the population change in Fergus County from 2020 to 2025 at +3.1%, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). With 1 child care center or preschool on map listings, Fergus County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.

How Fergus County 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.

Child care and preschools in Fergus County, MT compared with Montana and the U.S.
MeasureFergus CountyMontanaU.S.
Listings per 10k households1.97.55.8
Spending per listing$2.5M$807K$1M
Households per official establishment6639401,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.9%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.1%+5.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$472$608$581
Median household income$63,706$72,509$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored39

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
5 → 8
Employees, 2023
73
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
11Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
10 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
3The 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 Fergus 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 Fergus County

Population, 2025 estimate
11,825+3.1% since 2020
Households
5,303
Median age
45.3
Homes lived in by their owners
63%
Vehicles per household
2.2
Land area
4,339 sq. mi.
People per square mile
3
Median household income
$63,706+26.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$77,592
Median home value
$236,100
Jobs located here
4,374
Daytime population
11,143Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Fergus 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 Fergus 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 Montana

Every Montana market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Montana for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Montana, with Fergus County marked.

Top counties in Montana

Counties in Montana ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Park County, MT7956.0$1M+5.7%#106 of 1,611
2Gallatin County, MT55489.4$848K+7.7%#692 of 1,611
3Flathead County, MT54337.5$834K+10.1%#726 of 1,611
4Ravalli County, MT53158.0$693K+9.4%#758 of 1,611
5Yellowstone County, MT50557.9$816K+4.5%#827 of 1,611
6Missoula County, MT49417.8$817K+4.4%#848 of 1,611
7Carbon County, MT47510.7$608K+9.1%#912 of 1,611
8Lewis and Clark County, MT453410.9$588K+5.8%#967 of 1,611
9Cascade County, MT43236.5$862K+0.7%#1,002 of 1,611
10Lake County, MT411411.1$506K+6.9%#1,086 of 1,611
Fergus County, MTNot scored11.9$2.5M+3.1%

Other business types in Fergus 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 Fergus County, MT?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 1 child care center or preschool in Fergus County. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts also show 11 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $2.5M a year, or $472 per household. That is 19% below the U.S. average (an index of 81, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1 child care center or preschool on map listings, it comes to $2.5M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 5,303 households in Fergus County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Fergus County has 1 child care center or preschool 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, Fergus County would have about 3, against 1 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 663 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is Fergus County, MT growing?

Population estimates put Fergus County at 11,825 people in 2025, up 3.1% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 5,303 households. Median household income in Fergus County is $63,706, 21% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 26.1%, 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. Fergus County has no market score for child care centers and preschools: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 1.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Fergus 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 Fergus 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.