Child care · Metro area · New York
Child care centers and preschools in the Syracuse, NY metro area
How the Syracuse, NY metro area compares with other metro areas 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 #144 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York
- Listings
- 122
- 8 chain locations (7%)
- Official establishments
- 153
- −1.9% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $149.1M
- On child care and other personal services · $550 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.2M
- 22% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.5
- 22% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 652,273
- −1.3% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Syracuse 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 Syracuse 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 $550 per household (5% below the U.S. average), households in the Syracuse metro area spend about $149.1M a year on child care and other personal services. Spread across 122 child care centers and preschools, that is $1.2M per center, 22% above the U.S. figure of $1M.
There are 122 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Syracuse metro area as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 7% of them, against 12% across the U.S. That is 4.5 per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Official counts show 153 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Syracuse metro area in 2023, down 1.9% from 2019. That is one for every 1,773 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 1,076 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $2.2M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Syracuse metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Syracuse metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −1.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For child care centers and preschools, the Syracuse metro area has a Groundwork market score of 57 (upper middle): #144 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 13 scored metro areas based in New York.
How the Syracuse 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 | Syracuse metro area | New York | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.5 | 5.7 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.2M | $1.2M | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,773 | 1,150 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −1.9% | +6.0% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.3% | −0.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $550 | $684 | $581 |
| Median household income | $75,492 | $85,974 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 57 | 50 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 153−1.9% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,068
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $54.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 1,076Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1228 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 149The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 4
- Amount
- $2.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Syracuse 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 Syracuse metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 652,273−1.3% since 2020
- Households
- 271,251
- Median age
- 41.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 2,385 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 275
- Median household income
- $75,492+25.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $99,360
- Median home value
- $187,700
- Jobs located here
- 309,260
- Daytime population
- 669,341Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Syracuse 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 Syracuse 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 Syracuse 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 |
Other business types in the Syracuse 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 preschools57
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Syracuse, NY metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 122 child care centers and preschools in the Syracuse metro area. 8 of them (7%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 153 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, down 1.9% from 2019. Official counts also show 1,076 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Syracuse, NY metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $149.1M a year, or $550 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 122 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.2M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 271,251 households in the Syracuse metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Syracuse, NY metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Syracuse metro area has 4.5 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.2M, 22% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Syracuse metro area would have about 149, against 122 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,773 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count fell 1.9% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Syracuse, NY metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Syracuse metro area at 652,273 people in 2025, down 1.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 271,251 households. Median household income in the Syracuse metro area is $75,492, 6% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.1%, 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 Syracuse metro area scores 57 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #144 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 Syracuse 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 Syracuse metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Syracuse 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 Syracuse 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.