Child care · Small-town market · North Carolina
Child care centers and preschools in the Elizabeth City, NC area
How the Elizabeth City, NC area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 44 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #285 of 454 scored small-town markets
#13 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 10
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 12
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $6M
- On child care and other personal services · $379 a household
- Spending per listing
- $598K
- 40% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.3
- 9% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 42,201
- +4.5% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City 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 $379 per household (35% below the U.S. average), households in the Elizabeth City area spend about $6M a year on child care and other personal services. That is about $598K of household spending for each center on map listings, 40% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The Elizabeth City area has 10 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.3, 9% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Elizabeth City area was 12 in 2023. That is one for every 1,315 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 65 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Elizabeth City area grew 4.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For child care centers and preschools, the Elizabeth City area has a Groundwork market score of 44 (lower middle): #285 of 454 scored small-town markets and #13 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.
How the Elizabeth City 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 | Elizabeth City area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.3 | 5.5 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $598K | $844K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,315 | 1,639 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +2.5% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +4.5% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $379 | $463 | $581 |
| Median household income | $66,589 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 44 | 53 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 12
- Employees, 2023
- 119
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 65Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 100 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 6The 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 the Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 42,201+4.5% since 2020
- Households
- 15,785
- Median age
- 41.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 67%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 227 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 180
- Median household income
- $66,589
- Average household income
- $85,046
- Median home value
- $234,600
- Jobs located here
- 15,323
- Daytime population
- 38,788Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Elizabeth City area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Elizabeth City 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 small-town markets in North Carolina for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Elizabeth City area marked.
Top small-town markets in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Kill Devil Hills, NC | 75 | 11 | 6.5 | $832K | +3.3% | #47 of 454 |
| 2Boone, NC | 73 | 8 | 3.8 | $1M | +0.6% | #54 of 454 |
| 3Waynesville, NC | 71 | 6 | 2.2 | $1.7M | +1.9% | #64 of 454 |
| 4Marion, NC | 68 | 6 | 3.2 | $1M | +1.5% | #87 of 454 |
| 5Morehead City, NC | 68 | 17 | 5.3 | $854K | +4.1% | #92 of 454 |
| 6New Bern, NC | 61 | 23 | 4.4 | $855K | +3.6% | #138 of 454 |
| 7Anderson Creek, NC | 60 | 24 | 4.8 | $853K | +12.3% | #150 of 454 |
| 8Brevard, NC | 53 | 10 | 6.9 | $593K | +2.9% | #206 of 454 |
| 9North Wilkesboro, NC | 52 | 8 | 3.0 | $976K | +0.6% | #209 of 454 |
| 10Albemarle, NC | 52 | 12 | 4.8 | $779K | +9.8% | #214 of 454 |
| 13Elizabeth City, NC | 44 | 10 | 6.3 | $598K | +4.5% | #285 of 454 |
Other business types in the Elizabeth City 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 preschools44
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Elizabeth City, NC area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 10 child care centers and preschools in the Elizabeth City area. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts also show 65 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Elizabeth City, NC area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $6M a year, or $379 per household. That is 35% below the U.S. average (an index of 65, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $598K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,785 households in the Elizabeth City area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Elizabeth City, NC area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Elizabeth City area has 6.3 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 9% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $598K, 40% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Elizabeth City area would have about 6, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,315 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Elizabeth City, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Elizabeth City area at 42,201 people in 2025, up 4.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,785 households. Median household income in the Elizabeth City area is $66,589, 18% below 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Elizabeth City area scores 44 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #285 of 454 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Elizabeth City 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 Elizabeth City 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.