Groundwork

Child care · County · North Carolina

Child care centers and preschools in Cabarrus County, NC

How Cabarrus County, NC 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 66 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #374 of 1,611 scored counties
#14 of 73 scored counties in North Carolina

Listings
52
11 chain locations (21%)
Official establishments
46
+15.0% since 2019
Household spending a year
$46.6M
On child care and other personal services · $553 a household
Spending per listing
$895K
11% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
6.2
7% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
249,725
+9.9% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Cabarrus 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 Cabarrus County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Survey 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 52 child care centers and preschools in Cabarrus County. Of those, 11 are chain locations, or 21%, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 6.2 for every 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Household spending on child care and other personal services in Cabarrus County comes to about $46.6M a year: $553 per household, 5% below the U.S. average. That works out to $895K per center, 11% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

In 2023, official counts showed 46 businesses with payroll in Cabarrus County classed as child care services, up 15.0% from 2019. That is one for every 1,831 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 297 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 4 SBA-backed loans worth $4.7M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in Cabarrus County.

Population estimates put the population change in Cabarrus County from 2020 to 2025 at +9.9%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For child care centers and preschools, Cabarrus County has a Groundwork market score of 66 (upper middle): #374 of 1,611 scored counties and #14 of 73 scored counties in North Carolina. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Cabarrus County compares

The same measures for North Carolina 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 Cabarrus County, NC compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureCabarrus CountyNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households6.25.55.8
Spending per listing$895K$844K$1M
Households per official establishment1,8311,6391,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+15.0%+2.5%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+9.9%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$553$463$581
Median household income$89,005$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score6653

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
40 → 46+15.0% over the period
Employees, 2023
768
Annual payroll, 2023
$21.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
297Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
5211 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
47The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
4
Amount
$4.7M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
249,725+9.9% since 2020
Households
84,246
Median age
38.5
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
361 sq. mi.
People per square mile
654
Median household income
$89,005+32.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$115,945
Median home value
$354,800
Jobs located here
88,944
Daytime population
211,948Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Cabarrus 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 Cabarrus 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 North Carolina

Every North Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in North Carolina for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with Cabarrus County marked.

Top counties in North Carolina

Counties in North Carolina ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Brunswick County, NC89121.7$2.6M+26.5%#18 of 1,611
2Davie County, NC8163.5$1.4M+6.9%#72 of 1,611
3Macon County, NC7663.3$1.2M+5.8%#145 of 1,611
4Union County, NC76475.6$1.1M+11.7%#147 of 1,611
5Lincoln County, NC75143.8$1.3M+13.2%#156 of 1,611
6Henderson County, NC74193.7$1.1M+5.0%#180 of 1,611
7Forsyth County, NC73573.6$1.2M+5.0%#193 of 1,611
8Yadkin County, NC7153.3$1.1M+2.9%#236 of 1,611
9Iredell County, NC71435.6$895K+12.9%#247 of 1,611
10Burke County, NC6992.5$1.4M+1.6%#277 of 1,611
14Cabarrus County, NC66526.2$895K+9.9%#374 of 1,611

Other business types in Cabarrus 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 Cabarrus County, NC?

There are 52 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Cabarrus County as of September 2026. 11 of them (21%) 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, up 15.0% from 2019. Official counts also show 297 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $46.6M a year, or $553 per household. That is 5% below the U.S. average (an index of 95, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 52 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $895K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 84,246 households in Cabarrus County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Cabarrus County has 6.2 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 7% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $895K, 11% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Cabarrus County would have about 47, against 52 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,831 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 15.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.

How fast is Cabarrus County, NC growing?

Population estimates put Cabarrus County at 249,725 people in 2025, up 9.9% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 84,246 households. The median household income in Cabarrus County is $89,005 a year, 10% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.2% 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. Cabarrus County scores 66 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #374 of 1,611 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Cabarrus 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 Cabarrus 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.