Child care · Small-town market · Nebraska
Child care centers and preschools in the Columbus, NE area
The child care centers and preschools in the Columbus, NE area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 41 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #312 of 454 scored small-town markets
#5 of 9 scored small-town markets based in Nebraska
- Listings
- 14
- 1 chain location (7%)
- Official establishments
- 10
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $6.4M
- On child care and other personal services · $368 a household
- Spending per listing
- $456K
- 54% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.1
- 40% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 46,583
- +3.8% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Columbus 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 Columbus 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 14 child care centers and preschools in the Columbus area. One of them (7%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 8.1 for every 10,000 households, 40% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Columbus area comes to about $6.4M a year: $368 per household, 37% below the U.S. average. Spread across 14 child care centers and preschools, that is $456K per center, 54% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Columbus area in 2023. That is one for every 1,737 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 128 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Columbus area grew 3.8%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Columbus area is 41 (lower middle), #312 of 454 scored small-town markets and #5 of 9 scored small-town markets based in Nebraska.
How the Columbus area compares
The same measures for Nebraska 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 | Columbus area | Nebraska | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 8.1 | 7.4 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $456K | $566K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,737 | 1,080 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.1% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.8% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $368 | $421 | $581 |
| Median household income | $75,378 | $76,475 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 41 | 20 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 10
- Employees, 2023
- 86
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 128Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 141 chain location
- 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 Columbus 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 Columbus area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 46,583+3.8% since 2020
- Households
- 17,365
- Median age
- 37.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 1,087 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 42
- Median household income
- $75,378
- Average household income
- $93,046
- Median home value
- $210,600
- Jobs located here
- 25,969
- Daytime population
- 46,840Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Columbus 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 Columbus 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 Nebraska
Every Nebraska market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Nebraska for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Nebraska, with the Columbus area marked.
Top small-town markets in Nebraska
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Beatrice, NE | 47 | 5 | 5.4 | $654K | +0.2% | #257 of 454 |
| 2Lexington, NE | 47 | 6 | 6.0 | $616K | +1.1% | #259 of 454 |
| 3Hastings, NE | 42 | 7 | 4.1 | $909K | −0.2% | #299 of 454 |
| 4Kearney, NE | 41 | 14 | 6.1 | $645K | +1.9% | #309 of 454 |
| 5Columbus, NE | 41 | 14 | 8.1 | $456K | +3.8% | #312 of 454 |
| 6North Platte, NE | 34 | 8 | 5.3 | $643K | −3.6% | #356 of 454 |
| 7Fremont, NE | 31 | 15 | 9.9 | $364K | +2.6% | #378 of 454 |
| 8Norfolk, NE | 27 | 15 | 7.6 | $483K | +1.1% | #399 of 454 |
| 9Scottsbluff, NE | 20 | 12 | 7.8 | $421K | −1.2% | #422 of 454 |
Other business types in the Columbus 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 preschools41
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Columbus, NE area?
There are 14 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Columbus area as of September 2026. One of them (7%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 128 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Columbus, NE area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $6.4M a year, or $368 per household. That is 37% below the U.S. average (an index of 63, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $456K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 17,365 households in the Columbus area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Columbus, NE area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Columbus area has 8.1 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 40% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $456K, 54% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Columbus area would have about 6, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,737 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Columbus, NE area growing?
Population estimates put the Columbus area at 46,583 people in 2025, up 3.8% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 17,365 households. The median household income in the Columbus area is $75,378 a year, 7% 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 Columbus area scores 41 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #312 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 Columbus 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 Columbus area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Columbus 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 Columbus 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.