Child care · Small-town market · New Mexico
Child care centers and preschools in the Española, NM area
How the Española, NM area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 57 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #172 of 454 scored small-town markets
#6 of 7 scored small-town markets based in New Mexico
- Listings
- 6
- 1 chain location (17%)
- Official establishments
- 13
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $8M
- On child care and other personal services · $509 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.3M
- 32% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.8
- 34% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 39,832
- −1.0% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Española 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 Española 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 6 child care centers and preschools in the Española area. One of them (17%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.8, 34% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Households in the Española area spend about $8M a year on child care and other personal services, or $509 per household, 12% below the U.S. average. Spread across 6 child care centers and preschools, that is $1.3M per center, 32% above the U.S. figure of $1M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Española area was 13 in 2023. That is one for every 1,204 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 33 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Population estimates put the population change in the Española area from 2020 to 2025 at −1.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For child care centers and preschools, the Española area has a Groundwork market score of 57 (upper middle): #172 of 454 scored small-town markets and #6 of 7 scored small-town markets based in New Mexico.
How the Española area compares
The same measures for New Mexico 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 | Española area | New Mexico | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.8 | 4.5 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.3M | $1.3M | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,204 | 1,865 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +11.4% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.0% | +0.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $509 | $571 | $581 |
| Median household income | $57,155 | $64,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 57 | 64 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 13
- Employees, 2023
- 64
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 33Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 61 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 8The 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 Española 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 Española area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 39,832−1.0% since 2020
- Households
- 15,647
- Median age
- 43.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 80%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 5,861 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 7
- Median household income
- $57,155+43.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $76,460
- Median home value
- $243,700
- Jobs located here
- 8,255
- Daytime population
- 39,363Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Española 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 Española 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 New Mexico
Every New Mexico market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in New Mexico for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in New Mexico, with the Española area marked.
Top small-town markets in New Mexico
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Carlsbad-Artesia, NM | 77 | 9 | 3.8 | $1.7M | +0.3% | #31 of 454 |
| 2Alamogordo, NM | 77 | 10 | 4.1 | $1.2M | +3.7% | #33 of 454 |
| 3Taos, NM | 72 | 6 | 3.9 | $1.4M | +0.3% | #59 of 454 |
| 4Hobbs, NM | 63 | 14 | 5.7 | $1.1M | +0.2% | #119 of 454 |
| 5Roswell, NM | 62 | 8 | 3.4 | $1.4M | −2.7% | #125 of 454 |
| 6Española, NM | 57 | 6 | 3.8 | $1.3M | −1.0% | #172 of 454 |
| 7Clovis, NM | 46 | 12 | 4.6 | $1M | −3.3% | #264 of 454 |
Other business types in the Española 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 preschools57
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Española, NM area?
There are 6 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Española area as of September 2026. One of them (17%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 13 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 33 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Española, NM area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $8M a year, or $509 per household. That is 12% below the U.S. average (an index of 88, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 6 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.3M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,647 households in the Española area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Española, NM area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Española area has 3.8 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 34% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.3M, 32% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Española area would have about 8, against 6 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,204 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Española, NM area growing?
Population estimates put the Española area at 39,832 people in 2025, down 1.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 15,647 households. The median household income in the Española area is $57,155 a year, 29% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 43.1% 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 Española area scores 57 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #172 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 Española 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 Española area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Española 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 Española 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.