Child care · County · North Carolina
Child care centers and preschools in Polk County, NC
How Polk County, NC compares with other counties and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 3.
- Listings
- 3
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $4M
- On child care and other personal services · $446 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.3M
- 33% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.3
- 43% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 20,533
- +6.0% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Polk County
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 Polk County. 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 Polk County comes to about $4M a year: $446 per household, 23% below the U.S. average. That is about $1.3M of household spending for each center on map listings, 33% above the U.S. figure of $1M.
Polk County has 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. That is 3.3 per 10,000 households, 43% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for child care services in Polk County, since they leave out counts under 3. Official counts list 9 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in Polk County from 2020 to 2025 at +6.0%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). With 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings, Polk County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.
How Polk County 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 | Polk County | North Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.3 | 5.5 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.3M | $844K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 1,639 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +2.5% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.0% | +7.2% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $446 | $463 | $581 |
| Median household income | $67,758 | $72,388 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 53 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- n/a
- Employees, 2023
- n/a
- Annual payroll, 2023
- n/a
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 9Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 30 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 Polk County, 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 Polk County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 20,533+6.0% since 2020
- Households
- 8,976
- Median age
- 53.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 77%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 238 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 84
- Median household income
- $67,758+38.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $96,279
- Median home value
- $315,000
- Jobs located here
- 5,495
- Daytime population
- 17,071Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Polk County?
These figures cover the whole county. 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 Polk County. 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 counties in North Carolina for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in North Carolina, with Polk County marked.
Top counties in North Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Brunswick County, NC | 89 | 12 | 1.7 | $2.6M | +26.5% | #18 of 1,611 |
| 2Davie County, NC | 81 | 6 | 3.5 | $1.4M | +6.9% | #72 of 1,611 |
| 3Macon County, NC | 76 | 6 | 3.3 | $1.2M | +5.8% | #145 of 1,611 |
| 4Union County, NC | 76 | 47 | 5.6 | $1.1M | +11.7% | #147 of 1,611 |
| 5Lincoln County, NC | 75 | 14 | 3.8 | $1.3M | +13.2% | #156 of 1,611 |
| 6Henderson County, NC | 74 | 19 | 3.7 | $1.1M | +5.0% | #180 of 1,611 |
| 7Forsyth County, NC | 73 | 57 | 3.6 | $1.2M | +5.0% | #193 of 1,611 |
| 8Yadkin County, NC | 71 | 5 | 3.3 | $1.1M | +2.9% | #236 of 1,611 |
| 9Iredell County, NC | 71 | 43 | 5.6 | $895K | +12.9% | #247 of 1,611 |
| 10Burke County, NC | 69 | 9 | 2.5 | $1.4M | +1.6% | #277 of 1,611 |
| Polk County, NC | Not scored | 3 | 3.3 | $1.3M | +6.0% |
Other business types in Polk County
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 preschools
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in Polk County, NC?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 3 child care centers and preschools in Polk County. The listings count day care centers and preschools. No official count is published for child care services in Polk County: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts also show 9 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Polk County, NC spend on child care and other personal services?
About $4M a year, or $446 per household. That is 23% below the U.S. average (an index of 77, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 3 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.3M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 8,976 households in Polk County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Polk County, NC compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
Polk County has 3.3 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 43% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.3M, 33% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Polk County would have about 4, against 3 on map listings.
How fast is Polk County, NC growing?
Population estimates put Polk County at 20,533 people in 2025, up 6.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 8,976 households. Median household income in Polk County is $67,758, 16% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 38.9%, 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. 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. Polk County has no market score for child care centers and preschools: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 3.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Polk County. 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 Polk County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Polk County?
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 Polk County. 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.