Groundwork

Child care · County · Oklahoma

Child care centers and preschools in Cherokee County, OK

How Cherokee County, OK compares with other counties and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 39 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #1,125 of 1,611 scored counties
#15 of 37 scored counties in Oklahoma

Listings
8
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
14
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$6.2M
On child care and other personal services · $334 a household
Spending per listing
$781K
22% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.3
26% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
49,196
+4.5% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Cherokee 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 Cherokee County. 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

As of September 2026, map listings count 8 child care centers and preschools in Cherokee County. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 4.3 for every 10,000 households, 26% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Household spending on child care and other personal services in Cherokee County comes to about $6.2M a year: $334 per household, 42% below the U.S. average. That works out to $781K per center, 22% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

Official counts show 14 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Cherokee County in 2023. That is one for every 1,336 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 68 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

Population estimates put the population change in Cherokee County from 2020 to 2025 at +4.5%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in Cherokee County is 39 (lower middle), #1,125 of 1,611 scored counties and #15 of 37 scored counties in Oklahoma.

How Cherokee County compares

The same measures for Oklahoma 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 Cherokee County, OK compared with Oklahoma and the U.S.
MeasureCherokee CountyOklahomaU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.35.55.8
Spending per listing$781K$735K$1M
Households per official establishment1,3361,4811,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+9.2%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.5%+4.0%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$334$406$581
Median household income$53,218$65,039$80,734
Groundwork market score3937

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
13 → 14
Employees, 2023
80
Annual payroll, 2023
$2.2M
One-person businesses, 2023
68Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
80 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
6The 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 Cherokee 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 Cherokee County

Population, 2025 estimate
49,196+4.5% since 2020
Households
18,698
Median age
38.1
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
749 sq. mi.
People per square mile
64
Median household income
$53,218+24.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$72,290
Median home value
$168,500
Jobs located here
13,276
Daytime population
42,397Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Cherokee 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 Cherokee County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Child care and preschools across Oklahoma

Every Oklahoma market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Oklahoma for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Oklahoma, with Cherokee County marked.

Top counties in Oklahoma

Counties in Oklahoma ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Wagoner County, OK8382.5$1.8M+14.6%#52 of 1,611
2Grady County, OK8173.4$1.3M+7.7%#73 of 1,611
3Rogers County, OK7492.5$1.9M+7.1%#168 of 1,611
4Payne County, OK66103.1$1.2M+2.8%#361 of 1,611
5Canadian County, OK63315.3$922K+20.4%#462 of 1,611
6McClain County, OK5695.5$880K+18.4%#663 of 1,611
7Tulsa County, OK501625.9$747K+4.2%#831 of 1,611
8Sequoyah County, OK4963.9$797K+4.1%#851 of 1,611
9Kay County, OK4663.6$972K−0.3%#917 of 1,611
10Oklahoma County, OK451825.5$786K+3.0%#958 of 1,611
15Cherokee County, OK3984.3$781K+4.5%#1,125 of 1,611

Other business types in Cherokee County

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

Questions

How many child care centers and preschools are in Cherokee County, OK?

Cherokee County has 8 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 14 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 68 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Cherokee County, OK spend on child care and other personal services?

About $6.2M a year, or $334 per household. That is 42% below the U.S. average (an index of 58, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 8 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $781K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 18,698 households in Cherokee County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Cherokee County, OK compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?

Cherokee County has 4.3 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 26% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $781K, 22% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Cherokee County would have about 6, against 8 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,336 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is Cherokee County, OK growing?

Population estimates put Cherokee County at 49,196 people in 2025, up 4.5% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,698 households. The median household income in Cherokee County is $53,218 a year, 34% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 24.4% 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. 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. Cherokee County scores 39 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #1,125 of 1,611 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Cherokee 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 Cherokee County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Cherokee 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 Cherokee 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.