Groundwork

Child care · Small-town market · Ohio

Child care centers and preschools in the Portsmouth, OH area

How the Portsmouth, OH 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 41 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #307 of 454 scored small-town markets
#21 of 25 scored small-town markets based in Ohio

Listings
10
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
13
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$8.8M
On child care and other personal services · $305 a household
Spending per listing
$880K
12% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.5
40% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
71,365
−3.4% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 10 child care centers and preschools in the Portsmouth area. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 3.5 for every 10,000 households, 40% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

At $305 per household (48% below the U.S. average), households in the Portsmouth area spend about $8.8M a year on child care and other personal services. That works out to $880K per center, 12% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

In 2023, official counts showed 13 businesses with payroll in the Portsmouth area classed as child care services. That is one for every 2,220 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 75 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Population estimates show the Portsmouth area declined 3.4% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Portsmouth area is 41 (lower middle), #307 of 454 scored small-town markets and #21 of 25 scored small-town markets based in Ohio.

How the Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth, OH area compared with Ohio and the U.S.
MeasurePortsmouth areaOhioU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.55.55.8
Spending per listing$880K$736K$1M
Households per official establishment2,2201,7291,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+6.0%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−3.4%+0.9%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$305$407$581
Median household income$50,609$71,389$80,734
Groundwork market score4135

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
13
Employees, 2023
277
Annual payroll, 2023
$6.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
75Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
100 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
9The 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 Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth area

Population, 2025 estimate
71,365−3.4% since 2020
Households
28,864
Median age
41.2
Homes lived in by their owners
68%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
610 sq. mi.
People per square mile
119
Median household income
$50,609+22.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$70,152
Median home value
$137,900
Jobs located here
24,365
Daytime population
67,429Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth 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
21Portsmouth, OH41103.5$880K−3.4%#307 of 454

Other business types in the Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth, OH area?

The Portsmouth area has 10 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 13 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 75 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $8.8M a year, or $305 per household. That is 48% below the U.S. average (an index of 52, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $880K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 28,864 households in the Portsmouth area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Portsmouth area has 3.5 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 40% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $880K, 12% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Portsmouth area would have about 9, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,220 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is the Portsmouth, OH area growing?

Population estimates put the Portsmouth area at 71,365 people in 2025, down 3.4% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 28,864 households. The median household income in the Portsmouth area is $50,609 a year, 37% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.5% 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 Portsmouth area scores 41 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #307 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 Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Portsmouth 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 Portsmouth 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.