Child care · Small-town market · North Carolina
Child care centers and preschools in the Kinston, NC area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in the Kinston, NC area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 27 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #396 of 454 scored small-town markets
#18 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina
- Listings
- 12
- 2 chain locations (17%)
- Official establishments
- 19
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $7M
- On child care and other personal services · $299 a household
- Spending per listing
- $582K
- 42% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.1
- 12% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 55,837
- +1.4% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Kinston 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 Kinston 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
For child care centers and preschools, the Kinston area has a Groundwork market score of 27 (lower middle): #396 of 454 scored small-town markets and #18 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 12 child care centers and preschools in the Kinston area. Chain locations make up 17% of them, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 5.1, 12% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Kinston area comes to about $7M a year: $299 per household, 48% below the U.S. average. That works out to $582K per center, 42% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
Official counts show 19 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Kinston area in 2023. That is one for every 1,229 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Kinston area grew 1.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Kinston 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 | Kinston area | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.1 | 5.5 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $582K | $844K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,229 | 1,639 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +2.5% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.4% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $299 | $463 | $581 |
| Median household income | $45,143 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 27 | 53 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 19
- Employees, 2023
- 229
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $5.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 105Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 122 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 7The 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 Kinston 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 Kinston area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 55,837+1.4% since 2020
- Households
- 23,351
- Median age
- 41.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 59%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 399 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 138
- Median household income
- $45,143+14.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $65,291
- Median home value
- $120,500
- Jobs located here
- 29,615
- Daytime population
- 59,853Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Kinston 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 Kinston 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 Kinston 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 |
| 18Kinston, NC | 27 | 12 | 5.1 | $582K | +1.4% | #396 of 454 |
Other business types in the Kinston 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 preschools27
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Kinston, NC area?
There are 12 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Kinston area as of September 2026. 2 of them (17%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 19 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 105 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Kinston, NC area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $7M a year, or $299 per household. That is 48% below the U.S. average (an index of 52, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $582K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 23,351 households in the Kinston area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Kinston, NC area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Kinston area has 5.1 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 12% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $582K, 42% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Kinston area would have about 7, against 12 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,229 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Kinston, NC area growing?
Population estimates put the Kinston area at 55,837 people in 2025, up 1.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 23,351 households. The median household income in the Kinston area is $45,143 a year, 44% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 14.6% 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. 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 Kinston area scores 27 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #396 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 Kinston 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 Kinston area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Kinston 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 Kinston 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.