Child care · Metro area · North Carolina
Child care centers and preschools in the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro area
How the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC 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 48 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #211 of 387 scored metro areas
#9 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 169
- 23 chain locations (14%)
- Official establishments
- 192
- +0.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $139M
- On child care and other personal services · $560 a household
- Spending per listing
- $822K
- 18% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.8
- 17% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 625,485
- +7.5% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Durham-Chapel Hill 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 Durham-Chapel Hill 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
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area comes to about $139M a year: $560 per household, 4% below the U.S. average. Spread across 169 child care centers and preschools, that is $822K per center, 18% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The Durham-Chapel Hill metro area has 169 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. 23 of them (14%) are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That is 6.8 per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Official counts show 192 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area in 2023, up 0.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,293 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 633 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $14.7M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area from 2020 to 2025 at +7.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Durham-Chapel Hill metro area scores 48 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #211 of 387 scored metro areas and #9 of 15 scored metro areas based in North Carolina.
How the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area 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.
| Measure | Durham-Chapel Hill metro area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.8 | 5.5 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $822K | $844K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,293 | 1,639 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +0.5% | +2.5% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +7.5% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $560 | $463 | $581 |
| Median household income | $83,500 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 48 | 53 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 192+0.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,305
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $73.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 633Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 16923 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 139The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 7
- Amount
- $14.7M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Durham-Chapel Hill 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 Durham-Chapel Hill metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 625,485+7.5% since 2020
- Households
- 248,256
- Median age
- 39.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 62%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 1,759 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 342
- Median household income
- $83,500
- Average household income
- $120,978
- Median home value
- $396,100
- Jobs located here
- 363,261
- Daytime population
- 696,157Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Durham-Chapel Hill 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 Durham-Chapel Hill 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 North Carolina
Every North Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in North Carolina for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in North Carolina (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area marked.
Top metro areas in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Wilmington, NC | 73 | 90 | 4.5 | $1M | +15.9% | #41 of 387 |
| 2Winston-Salem, NC | 67 | 108 | 3.8 | $1.1M | +5.3% | #73 of 387 |
| 3Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 65 | 570 | 5.3 | $1M | +10.1% | #87 of 387 |
| 4Asheville, NC | 61 | 79 | 4.9 | $917K | +3.6% | #114 of 387 |
| 5Burlington, NC | 59 | 24 | 3.4 | $1.1M | +8.5% | #126 of 387 |
| 6Raleigh-Cary, NC | 58 | 395 | 6.9 | $907K | +12.6% | #142 of 387 |
| 7Hickory-Lenoir-Morganton, NC | 54 | 61 | 4.1 | $902K | +3.2% | #173 of 387 |
| Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 52 | 387 | 5.5 | $925K | +0.9% | #184 of 387 |
| 8Jacksonville, NC | 50 | 33 | 4.4 | $863K | +6.0% | #194 of 387 |
| 9Durham-Chapel Hill, NC | 48 | 169 | 6.8 | $822K | +7.5% | #211 of 387 |
Other business types in the Durham-Chapel Hill 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 preschools48
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 169 child care centers and preschools in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area. 23 of them (14%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 192 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 0.5% from 2019. Official counts also show 633 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $139M a year, or $560 per household. That is 4% below the U.S. average (an index of 96, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 169 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $822K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 248,256 households in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Durham-Chapel Hill metro area has 6.8 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 17% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $822K, 18% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area would have about 139, against 169 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,293 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 0.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Durham-Chapel Hill, NC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area at 625,485 people in 2025, up 7.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 248,256 households. Median household income in the Durham-Chapel Hill metro area is $83,500, 3% above the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 Durham-Chapel Hill metro area scores 48 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #211 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 Durham-Chapel Hill 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 Durham-Chapel Hill metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Durham-Chapel Hill 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 Durham-Chapel Hill 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.