Child care · County · New Mexico
Child care centers and preschools in Lea County, NM
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in Lea County, NM, set against other counties and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 57 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #625 of 1,611 scored counties
#11 of 15 scored counties in New Mexico
- Listings
- 14
- 4 chain locations (29%)
- Official establishments
- 16
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $15.1M
- On child care and other personal services · $611 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.1M
- 7% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.7
- 2% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 74,749
- +0.2% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Lea 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 Lea County. 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 Lea County. 4 of them (29%) are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 5.7 for every 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in Lea County comes to about $15.1M a year: $611 per household, 5% above the U.S. average. That works out to $1.1M per center, 7% above the U.S. figure of $1M.
In 2023, official counts showed 16 businesses with payroll in Lea County classed as child care services. That is one for every 1,542 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 46 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Lea County grew 0.2%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in Lea County is 57 (upper middle), #625 of 1,611 scored counties and #11 of 15 scored counties in New Mexico.
How Lea County 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 | Lea County | New Mexico | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.7 | 4.5 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.1M | $1.3M | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,542 | 1,865 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +11.4% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.2% | +0.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $611 | $571 | $581 |
| Median household income | $68,015 | $64,059 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 57 | 64 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 15 → 16
- Employees, 2023
- 244
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $7.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 46Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 144 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 15The 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 Lea 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 Lea County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 74,749+0.2% since 2020
- Households
- 24,670
- Median age
- 32.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 4,392 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 17
- Median household income
- $68,015+12.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $91,389
- Median home value
- $184,000
- Jobs located here
- 33,256
- Daytime population
- 77,341Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Lea 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 Lea County. 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 counties in New Mexico for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in New Mexico, with Lea County marked.
Top counties in New Mexico
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Sandoval County, NM | 88 | 27 | 4.7 | $1.5M | +6.9% | #22 of 1,611 |
| 2Santa Fe County, NM | 85 | 30 | 4.2 | $1.7M | +1.2% | #37 of 1,611 |
| 3Eddy County, NM | 75 | 9 | 3.8 | $1.7M | +0.3% | #152 of 1,611 |
| 4Valencia County, NM | 74 | 12 | 4.4 | $1.1M | +7.2% | #178 of 1,611 |
| 5Otero County, NM | 72 | 10 | 4.1 | $1.2M | +3.7% | #216 of 1,611 |
| 6Taos County, NM | 69 | 6 | 3.9 | $1.4M | +0.3% | #276 of 1,611 |
| 7San Juan County, NM | 62 | 20 | 4.8 | $1.1M | −0.9% | #484 of 1,611 |
| 8Doña Ana County, NM | 60 | 42 | 4.9 | $1M | +4.1% | #540 of 1,611 |
| 9Chaves County, NM | 59 | 8 | 3.4 | $1.4M | −2.7% | #564 of 1,611 |
| 10Bernalillo County, NM | 57 | 151 | 5.3 | $1.1M | −1.4% | #624 of 1,611 |
| 11Lea County, NM | 57 | 14 | 5.7 | $1.1M | +0.2% | #625 of 1,611 |
Other business types in Lea County
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 Lea County, NM?
Lea County has 14 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. 4 of them (29%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 16 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 46 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Lea County, NM spend on child care and other personal services?
About $15.1M a year, or $611 per household. That is 5% above the U.S. average (an index of 105, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.1M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 24,670 households in Lea County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Lea County, NM compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
Lea County has 5.7 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 2% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.1M, 7% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Lea County would have about 15, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,542 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is Lea County, NM growing?
Population estimates put Lea County at 74,749 people in 2025, up 0.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 24,670 households. The median household income in Lea County is $68,015 a year, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 12.3% 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. 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. Lea County scores 57 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #625 of 1,611 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Lea 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 Lea County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Lea 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 Lea 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.