Child care · Small-town market · North Carolina
Child care centers and preschools in the Forest City, NC area
How the Forest 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 43 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #291 of 454 scored small-town markets
#15 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 12
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 15
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $8.4M
- On child care and other personal services · $317 a household
- Spending per listing
- $703K
- 30% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.5
- 22% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 65,745
- +2.1% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Forest 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 Forest 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
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Forest City area comes to about $8.4M a year: $317 per household, 45% below the U.S. average. Spread across 12 child care centers and preschools, that is $703K per center, 30% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
There are 12 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Forest City area as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That is 4.5 per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 15 businesses with payroll in the Forest City area classed as child care services. That is one for every 1,776 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 79 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $987K have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Forest City area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Forest City area from 2020 to 2025 at +2.1%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Forest City area is 43 (lower middle), #291 of 454 scored small-town markets and #15 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina.
How the Forest 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 | Forest City area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.5 | 5.5 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $703K | $844K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,776 | 1,639 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +2.5% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.1% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $317 | $463 | $581 |
| Median household income | $51,410 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 43 | 53 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 15
- Employees, 2023
- 148
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $3.7M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 79Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 120 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 8The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $987K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Forest 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 Forest City area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 65,745+2.1% since 2020
- Households
- 26,642
- Median age
- 44.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 565 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 115
- Median household income
- $51,410+20.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $72,230
- Median home value
- $201,800
- Jobs located here
- 19,241
- Daytime population
- 55,091Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Forest 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 Forest 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 Forest 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 |
| 15Forest City, NC | 43 | 12 | 4.5 | $703K | +2.1% | #291 of 454 |
Other business types in the Forest 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 preschools43
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Forest City, NC area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 12 child care centers and preschools in the Forest City area. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts also show 79 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Forest City, NC area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $8.4M a year, or $317 per household. That is 45% below the U.S. average (an index of 55, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $703K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 26,642 households in the Forest City area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Forest City, NC area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Forest City 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 $703K, 30% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Forest City area would have about 8, against 12 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,776 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Forest City, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Forest City area at 65,745 people in 2025, up 2.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 26,642 households. Median household income in the Forest City area is $51,410, 36% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 20.7%, 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. 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 Forest City area scores 43 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #291 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 Forest 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 Forest City area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Forest 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 Forest 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.