Child care · Small-town market · North Dakota
Child care centers and preschools in the Dickinson, ND area
How the Dickinson, ND 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 31 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #374 of 454 scored small-town markets
#2 of 4 scored small-town markets based in North Dakota
- Listings
- 14
- 1 chain location (7%)
- Official establishments
- 19
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $6.7M
- On child care and other personal services · $432 a household
- Spending per listing
- $479K
- 52% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 9.0
- 55% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 39,142
- +0.7% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Dickinson 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 Dickinson 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
The Dickinson area scores 31 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #374 of 454 scored small-town markets and #2 of 4 scored small-town markets based in North Dakota. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 14 child care centers and preschools in the Dickinson area. One of them (7%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. That is 9.0 per 10,000 households, 55% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Dickinson area comes to about $6.7M a year: $432 per household, 26% below the U.S. average. That is about $479K of household spending for each center on map listings, 52% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
In 2023, official counts showed 19 businesses with payroll in the Dickinson area classed as child care services. That is one for every 817 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Dickinson area grew 0.7% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Dickinson area compares
The same measures for North Dakota 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 | Dickinson area | North Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 9.0 | 6.2 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $479K | $686K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 817 | 885 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +19.5% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +0.7% | +2.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $432 | $423 | $581 |
| Median household income | $85,938 | $76,657 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 31 | 20 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 19
- Employees, 2023
- 80
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 98Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 141 chain location
- 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 Dickinson 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 Dickinson area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 39,142+0.7% since 2020
- Households
- 15,515
- Median age
- 36.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 4,492 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 9
- Median household income
- $85,938
- Average household income
- $102,815
- Median home value
- $272,800
- Jobs located here
- 20,970
- Daytime population
- 39,418Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Dickinson 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 Dickinson 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 Dakota
Every North Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in North Dakota for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in North Dakota, with the Dickinson area marked.
Top small-town markets in North Dakota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Williston, ND | 46 | 10 | 6.6 | $747K | +1.4% | #265 of 454 |
| 2Dickinson, ND | 31 | 14 | 9.0 | $479K | +0.7% | #374 of 454 |
| 3Wahpeton, ND-MN | 24 | 9 | 9.5 | $416K | 0.0% | #410 of 454 |
| 4Jamestown, ND | 22 | 7 | 7.4 | $493K | −0.6% | #419 of 454 |
Other business types in the Dickinson 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 preschools31
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Dickinson, ND area?
There are 14 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Dickinson area as of September 2026. One of them (7%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 19 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 98 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Dickinson, ND area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $6.7M a year, or $432 per household. That is 26% below the U.S. average (an index of 74, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $479K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,515 households in the Dickinson area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Dickinson, ND area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Dickinson area has 9.0 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 55% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $479K, 52% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Dickinson area would have about 7, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 817 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Dickinson, ND area growing?
Population estimates put the Dickinson area at 39,142 people in 2025, up 0.7% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,515 households. The median household income in the Dickinson area is $85,938 a year, 6% above 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 Dickinson area scores 31 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #374 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 Dickinson 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 Dickinson area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Dickinson 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 Dickinson 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.