Groundwork

Child care · Small-town market · North Carolina

Child care centers and preschools in the Laurinburg, NC area

How the Laurinburg, 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 17 out of 100: Low

Ranked #432 of 454 scored small-town markets
#22 of 23 scored small-town markets based in North Carolina

Listings
10
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
10
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$4M
On child care and other personal services · $322 a household
Spending per listing
$404K
60% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.9
36% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
33,322
−0.3% since 2020

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey 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 Laurinburg area has a Groundwork market score of 17 (low): #432 of 454 scored small-town markets and #22 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 10 child care centers and preschools in the Laurinburg area. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 7.9 for every 10,000 households, 36% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Households in the Laurinburg area spend about $4M a year on child care and other personal services, or $322 per household, 45% below the U.S. average. Spread across 10 child care centers and preschools, that is $404K per center, 60% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Laurinburg area was 10 in 2023. That is one for every 1,258 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in the Laurinburg area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S.

How the Laurinburg 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.

Child care and preschools in Laurinburg, NC area compared with North Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureLaurinburg areaNorth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.95.55.8
Spending per listing$404K$844K$1M
Households per official establishment1,2581,6391,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+2.5%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.3%+7.2%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$322$463$581
Median household income$45,730$72,388$80,734
Groundwork market score1753

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
10
Employees, 2023
161
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.8M
One-person businesses, 2023
91Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
100 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
4The 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 Laurinburg 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 Laurinburg area

Population, 2025 estimate
33,322−0.3% since 2020
Households
12,580
Median age
38.8
Homes lived in by their owners
62%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
319 sq. mi.
People per square mile
105
Median household income
$45,730+22.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$70,579
Median home value
$114,900
Jobs located here
11,781
Daytime population
32,005Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Laurinburg 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 Laurinburg area. 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 small-town markets in North Carolina for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with the Laurinburg area marked.

Top small-town markets in North Carolina

Small-town markets in North Carolina ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Kill Devil Hills, NC75116.5$832K+3.3%#47 of 454
2Boone, NC7383.8$1M+0.6%#54 of 454
3Waynesville, NC7162.2$1.7M+1.9%#64 of 454
4Marion, NC6863.2$1M+1.5%#87 of 454
5Morehead City, NC68175.3$854K+4.1%#92 of 454
6New Bern, NC61234.4$855K+3.6%#138 of 454
7Anderson Creek, NC60244.8$853K+12.3%#150 of 454
8Brevard, NC53106.9$593K+2.9%#206 of 454
9North Wilkesboro, NC5283.0$976K+0.6%#209 of 454
10Albemarle, NC52124.8$779K+9.8%#214 of 454
22Laurinburg, NC17107.9$404K−0.3%#432 of 454

Other business types in the Laurinburg area

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many child care centers and preschools are in the Laurinburg, NC area?

There are 10 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Laurinburg area as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 10 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 91 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Laurinburg, NC area spend on child care and other personal services?

About $4M a year, or $322 per household. That is 45% below the U.S. average (an index of 55, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $404K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 12,580 households in the Laurinburg area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Laurinburg area has 7.9 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 36% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $404K, 60% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Laurinburg area would have about 4, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,258 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is the Laurinburg, NC area growing?

Population estimates put the Laurinburg area at 33,322 people in 2025, down 0.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 12,580 households. The median household income in the Laurinburg area is $45,730 a year, 43% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.8% 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 Laurinburg area scores 17 for child care centers and preschools (low), #432 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 Laurinburg 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 Laurinburg area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Laurinburg 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 Laurinburg 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.