Groundwork

Child care · County · Nebraska

Child care centers and preschools in Wayne County, NE

How Wayne County, NE compares with other counties and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Listings
5
1 chain location (20%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$1.4M
On child care and other personal services · $360 a household
Spending per listing
$270K
73% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
13.3
2.3 times the U.S.
Population, 2025
10,020
+3.3% 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.

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

Map listings as of September 2026 show 5 child care centers and preschools in Wayne County. One of them (20%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 13.3 for every 10,000 households, 2.3 times the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Household spending on child care and other personal services in Wayne County comes to about $1.4M a year: $360 per household, 38% below the U.S. average. That works out to $270K per center, 73% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Wayne County was 3 in 2023. That is one for every 1,251 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 27 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Population estimates show Wayne County grew 3.3% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

How Wayne County 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.

Child care and preschools in Wayne County, NE compared with Nebraska and the U.S.
MeasureWayne CountyNebraskaU.S.
Listings per 10k households13.37.45.8
Spending per listing$270K$566K$1M
Households per official establishment1,2511,0801,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+5.1%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+3.3%+2.8%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$360$421$581
Median household income$66,215$76,475$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored20

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3 → 3
Employees, 2023
48
Annual payroll, 2023
$702K
One-person businesses, 2023
27Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
51 chain location
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
10,020+3.3% since 2020
Households
3,753
Median age
35.1
Homes lived in by their owners
61%
Vehicles per household
2.3
Land area
443 sq. mi.
People per square mile
22
Median household income
$66,215
Average household income
$83,400
Median home value
$221,600
Jobs located here
5,123
Daytime population
10,606Residents 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 Nebraska

Every Nebraska market ranked →

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

Top counties in Nebraska

Counties in Nebraska ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Cass County, NE5176.5$755K+3.9%#803 of 1,611
2Hall County, NE46145.7$644K+1.4%#942 of 1,611
3Lancaster County, NE41745.5$737K+3.4%#1,066 of 1,611
4Gage County, NE4155.4$654K+0.2%#1,073 of 1,611
5Sarpy County, NE41699.3$583K+9.0%#1,083 of 1,611
6Saunders County, NE4077.9$599K+6.0%#1,116 of 1,611
7Washington County, NE371011.9$425K+1.8%#1,174 of 1,611
8Platte County, NE36107.3$495K+3.9%#1,199 of 1,611
9Buffalo County, NE35105.0$788K+1.9%#1,207 of 1,611
10Douglas County, NE351958.2$573K+3.6%#1,224 of 1,611
Wayne County, NENot scored513.3$270K+3.3%

Other business types in Wayne County

None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.

Questions

How many child care centers and preschools are in Wayne County, NE?

There are 5 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Wayne County as of September 2026. One of them (20%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 27 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $1.4M a year, or $360 per household. That is 38% below the U.S. average (an index of 62, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $270K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 3,753 households in Wayne County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Wayne County has 13.3 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 2.3 times the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $270K, 73% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Wayne County would have about 1, against 5 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,251 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is Wayne County, NE growing?

Population estimates put Wayne County at 10,020 people in 2025, up 3.3% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 3,753 households. The median household income in Wayne County is $66,215 a year, 18% 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. 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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.

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.