Groundwork

Child care · Small-town market · Ohio

Child care centers and preschools in the Ashland, OH area

The child care centers and preschools in the Ashland, OH area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 62 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #126 of 454 scored small-town markets
#9 of 25 scored small-town markets based in Ohio

Listings
5
1 chain location (20%)
Official establishments
8
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$6.7M
On child care and other personal services · $325 a household
Spending per listing
$1.3M
34% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
2.4
59% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
52,523
+0.1% since 2020

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

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Survey 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 Ashland area comes to about $6.7M a year: $325 per household, 44% below the U.S. average. Spread across 5 child care centers and preschools, that is $1.3M per center, 34% above the U.S. figure of $1M.

There are 5 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Ashland area as of September 2026. One of them (20%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 2.4 for every 10,000 households, 59% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 8 businesses with payroll in the Ashland area classed as child care services. That is one for every 2,590 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 41 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show the Ashland area grew 0.1% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Ashland area is 62 (upper middle), #126 of 454 scored small-town markets and #9 of 25 scored small-town markets based in Ohio.

How the Ashland area compares

The same measures for Ohio 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 Ashland, OH area compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasureAshland areaOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households2.45.55.8
Spending per listing$1.3M$736K$1M
Households per official establishment2,5901,7291,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+6.0%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.1%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$325$407$581
Median household income$69,860$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score6235

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
8
Employees, 2023
79
Annual payroll, 2023
$1.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
41Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
51 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 Ashland 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 Ashland area

Population, 2025 estimate
52,523+0.1% since 2020
Households
20,720
Median age
42.2
Homes lived in by their owners
78%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
423 sq. mi.
People per square mile
124
Median household income
$69,860+32.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$82,890
Median home value
$186,800
Jobs located here
18,646
Daytime population
47,965Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Ashland 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 Ashland 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 Ohio

Every Ohio market ranked →

The highest-scoring small-town markets in Ohio for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Ohio, with the Ashland area marked.

Top small-town markets in Ohio

Small-town markets in Ohio ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Findlay, OH70113.5$1.1M+0.1%#75 of 454
2Wooster, OH68143.2$1.2M−0.1%#85 of 454
3Celina, OH6753.0$1.2M+0.5%#96 of 454
4Sidney, OH6773.7$1M−0.2%#97 of 454
5Chillicothe, OH6672.3$1.4M−0.8%#104 of 454
6Mount Vernon, OH6693.8$1M+1.9%#108 of 454
7Marietta, OH6562.4$1.4M−2.1%#112 of 454
8Norwalk, OH6452.1$1.6M−0.4%#115 of 454
9Ashland, OH6252.4$1.3M+0.1%#126 of 454
10Marion, OH6172.8$1.1M−0.4%#136 of 454

Other business types in the Ashland 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 Ashland, OH area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 5 child care centers and preschools in the Ashland area. One of them (20%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 41 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

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

About $6.7M a year, or $325 per household. That is 44% below the U.S. average (an index of 56, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 5 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.3M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 20,720 households in the Ashland area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Ashland area has 2.4 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 59% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.3M, 34% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Ashland area would have about 7, against 5 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,590 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is the Ashland, OH area growing?

Population estimates put the Ashland area at 52,523 people in 2025, up 0.1% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 20,720 households. Median household income in the Ashland area is $69,860, 13% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 32.3%, 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 Ashland area scores 62 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #126 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 Ashland 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 Ashland area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ashland 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 Ashland 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.