Child care · Metro area · New York
Child care centers and preschools in the Ithaca, NY metro area
The child care centers and preschools in the Ithaca, NY metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 42 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #252 of 387 scored metro areas
#12 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York
- Listings
- 24
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 46
- −8.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $25.3M
- On child care and other personal services · $585 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.1M
- 5% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.5
- 5% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 104,047
- −1.4% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Ithaca metro 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 Ithaca metro 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
At $585 per household (in line with the U.S. average), households in the Ithaca metro area spend about $25.3M a year on child care and other personal services. That works out to $1.1M per center, 5% above the U.S. figure of $1M.
There are 24 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Ithaca metro area as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 5.5 for every 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 46 businesses with payroll in the Ithaca metro area classed as child care services, down 8.0% from 2019. That is one for every 941 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 99 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $37K has gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Ithaca metro area.
Population estimates show the Ithaca metro area declined 1.4% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Ithaca metro area is 42 (lower middle), #252 of 387 scored metro areas and #12 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York.
How the Ithaca metro area compares
The same measures for New York 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 | Ithaca metro area | New York | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.5 | 5.7 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.1M | $1.2M | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 941 | 1,150 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −8.0% | +6.0% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.4% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $585 | $684 | $581 |
| Median household income | $74,024 | $85,974 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 42 | 50 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 46−8.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 573
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $16.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 99Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 240 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 25The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $37K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Ithaca metro 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 Ithaca metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 104,047−1.4% since 2020
- Households
- 43,263
- Median age
- 36.4
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 54%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 475 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 220
- Median household income
- $74,024+22.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $102,718
- Median home value
- $290,900
- Jobs located here
- 46,926
- Daytime population
- 111,478Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Ithaca metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Ithaca metro 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 York
Every New York market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in New York for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in New York, with the Ithaca metro area marked.
Top metro areas in New York
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Binghamton, NY | 67 | 31 | 3.0 | $1.6M | −1.3% | #69 of 387 |
| 2Buffalo-Cheektowaga, NY | 60 | 210 | 4.2 | $1.3M | −0.8% | #116 of 387 |
| 3Utica-Rome, NY | 58 | 49 | 4.1 | $1.2M | −2.0% | #134 of 387 |
| 4Albany-Schenectady-Troy, NY | 58 | 207 | 5.4 | $1.2M | +1.9% | #135 of 387 |
| 5Syracuse, NY | 57 | 122 | 4.5 | $1.2M | −1.3% | #144 of 387 |
| 6Watertown-Fort Drum, NY | 57 | 19 | 4.0 | $1.1M | −3.9% | #145 of 387 |
| 7New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ | 55 | 4,815 | 6.5 | $1.2M | +0.6% | #162 of 387 |
| 8Kiryas Joel-Poughkeepsie-Newburgh, NY | 55 | 182 | 7.1 | $1M | +3.0% | #164 of 387 |
| 9Rochester, NY | 54 | 211 | 4.7 | $1.2M | −0.7% | #170 of 387 |
| 10Elmira, NY | 51 | 16 | 4.5 | $998K | −3.9% | #186 of 387 |
| 12Ithaca, NY | 42 | 24 | 5.5 | $1.1M | −1.4% | #252 of 387 |
Other business types in the Ithaca metro 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 preschools42
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Ithaca, NY metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 24 child care centers and preschools in the Ithaca metro area. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 46 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, down 8.0% from 2019. Official counts list 99 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Ithaca, NY metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $25.3M a year, or $585 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 101, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 24 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.1M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 43,263 households in the Ithaca metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Ithaca, NY metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Ithaca metro area has 5.5 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.1M, 5% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Ithaca metro area would have about 25, against 24 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 941 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count fell 8.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Ithaca, NY metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Ithaca metro area at 104,047 people in 2025, down 1.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 43,263 households. Median household income in the Ithaca metro area is $74,024, 8% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.9%, 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. The Ithaca metro area scores 42 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #252 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Ithaca metro 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 Ithaca metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ithaca metro 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 Ithaca metro 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.