Child care · Small-town market · Nebraska
Child care centers and preschools in the Kearney, NE area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in the Kearney, NE area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 41 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #309 of 454 scored small-town markets
#4 of 9 scored small-town markets based in Nebraska
- Listings
- 14
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 24
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $9M
- On child care and other personal services · $396 a household
- Spending per listing
- $645K
- 36% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.1
- 5% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 57,962
- +1.9% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Kearney 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 Kearney 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 14 child care centers and preschools in the Kearney area. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 6.1 for every 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Households in the Kearney area spend about $9M a year on child care and other personal services, or $396 per household, 32% below the U.S. average. Spread across 14 child care centers and preschools, that is $645K per center, 36% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
In 2023, official counts showed 24 businesses with payroll in the Kearney area classed as child care services. That is one for every 950 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 190 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Population estimates put the population change in the Kearney area from 2020 to 2025 at +1.9%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Kearney area is 41 (lower middle), #309 of 454 scored small-town markets and #4 of 9 scored small-town markets based in Nebraska.
How the Kearney 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 | Kearney area | Nebraska | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.1 | 7.4 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $645K | $566K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 950 | 1,080 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +5.1% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.9% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $396 | $421 | $581 |
| Median household income | $76,109 | $76,475 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 41 | 20 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 24
- Employees, 2023
- 261
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $4.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 190Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 140 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 9The 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 Kearney 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 Kearney area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 57,962+1.9% since 2020
- Households
- 22,798
- Median age
- 36.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 1,484 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 39
- Median household income
- $76,109+27.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $96,670
- Median home value
- $242,600
- Jobs located here
- 29,261
- Daytime population
- 59,015Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Kearney 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 Kearney 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 Kearney 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 Kearney 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 Kearney, NE area?
The Kearney area has 14 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 24 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 190 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Kearney, NE area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $9M a year, or $396 per household. That is 32% below the U.S. average (an index of 68, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $645K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 22,798 households in the Kearney area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Kearney, NE area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Kearney area has 6.1 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $645K, 36% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Kearney area would have about 9, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 950 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Kearney, NE area growing?
Population estimates put the Kearney area at 57,962 people in 2025, up 1.9% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 22,798 households. The median household income in the Kearney area is $76,109 a year, 6% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 27.9% 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. 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 Kearney area scores 41 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #309 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 Kearney 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 Kearney area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Kearney 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 Kearney 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.