Groundwork

Child care · County · New Jersey

Child care centers and preschools in Bergen County, NJ

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 62 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #480 of 1,611 scored counties
#15 of 21 scored counties in New Jersey

Listings
280
37 chain locations (13%)
Official establishments
316
+1.9% since 2019
Household spending a year
$327.9M
On child care and other personal services · $923 a household
Spending per listing
$1.2M
17% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.9
36% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
977,026
+2.4% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Bergen 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 Bergen 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

Household spending on child care and other personal services in Bergen County comes to about $327.9M a year: $923 per household, 59% above the U.S. average. Spread across 280 child care centers and preschools, that is $1.2M per center, 17% above the U.S. figure of $1M.

There are 280 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Bergen County as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 13% of them, against 12% across the U.S. That is 7.9 per 10,000 households, 36% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Official counts show 316 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Bergen County in 2023, up 1.9% from 2019. That is one for every 1,124 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 1,176 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 17 SBA-backed loans worth $19.3M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in Bergen County.

Population estimates show Bergen County grew 2.4% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For child care centers and preschools, Bergen County has a Groundwork market score of 62 (upper middle): #480 of 1,611 scored counties and #15 of 21 scored counties in New Jersey.

How Bergen County compares

The same measures for New Jersey 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 Bergen County, NJ compared with New Jersey and the U.S.
MeasureBergen CountyNew JerseyU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.96.75.8
Spending per listing$1.2M$1.2M$1M
Households per official establishment1,1241,4221,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+1.9%+0.4%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+2.4%+3.0%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$923$785$581
Median household income$124,884$103,556$80,734
Groundwork market score6267

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
310 → 316+1.9% over the period
Employees, 2023
4,879
Annual payroll, 2023
$143.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
1,176Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
28037 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
327The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
17
Amount
$19.3M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in Bergen 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 Bergen County

Population, 2025 estimate
977,026+2.4% since 2020
Households
355,127
Median age
42.8
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
233 sq. mi.
People per square mile
4,134
Median household income
$124,884+23.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$171,275
Median home value
$623,000
Jobs located here
465,824
Daytime population
953,268Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Bergen 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 Bergen 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 New Jersey

Every New Jersey market ranked →

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

Top counties in New Jersey

Counties in New Jersey ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Burlington County, NJ81935.2$1.5M+4.3%#69 of 1,611
2Ocean County, NJ80933.8$1.7M+5.6%#79 of 1,611
3Sussex County, NJ78284.8$1.7M+2.9%#109 of 1,611
4Cape May County, NJ78184.0$1.7M−1.7%#110 of 1,611
5Gloucester County, NJ76635.6$1.3M+3.3%#142 of 1,611
6Hunterdon County, NJ75305.9$1.7M+2.3%#153 of 1,611
7Union County, NJ751236.1$1.3M+5.0%#158 of 1,611
8Middlesex County, NJ701986.4$1.3M+2.6%#257 of 1,611
9Somerset County, NJ691178.9$1.1M+3.5%#289 of 1,611
10Warren County, NJ68275.9$1.1M+3.2%#310 of 1,611
15Bergen County, NJ622807.9$1.2M+2.4%#480 of 1,611

Other business types in Bergen 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 Bergen County, NJ?

As of September 2026, map listings count 280 child care centers and preschools in Bergen County. 37 of them (13%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 316 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 1.9% from 2019. Official counts also show 1,176 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $327.9M a year, or $923 per household. That is 59% above the U.S. average (an index of 159, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 280 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.2M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 355,127 households in Bergen County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Bergen County has 7.9 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 36% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.2M, 17% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Bergen County would have about 327, against 280 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,124 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 1.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.

How fast is Bergen County, NJ growing?

Population estimates put Bergen County at 977,026 people in 2025, up 2.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 355,127 households. Median household income in Bergen County is $124,884, 55% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 23.5%, 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. Bergen County scores 62 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #480 of 1,611 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Bergen 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 Bergen 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.