Child care · Small-town market · Oklahoma
Child care centers and preschools in the McAlester, OK area
The child care centers and preschools in the McAlester, OK area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other small-town markets.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 32 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #365 of 454 scored small-town markets
#9 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Oklahoma
- Listings
- 8
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 14
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $5.9M
- On child care and other personal services · $333 a household
- Spending per listing
- $744K
- 26% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.5
- 22% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 43,320
- −1.1% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the McAlester 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 McAlester 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 Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the McAlester area is 32 (lower middle), #365 of 454 scored small-town markets and #9 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Oklahoma. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
Map listings as of September 2026 show 8 child care centers and preschools in the McAlester area. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 4.5 for every 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Households in the McAlester area spend about $5.9M a year on child care and other personal services, or $333 per household, 43% below the U.S. average. That works out to $744K per center, 26% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the McAlester area was 14 in 2023. That is one for every 1,275 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the McAlester area declined 1.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the McAlester area 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.
| Measure | McAlester area | Oklahoma | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.5 | 5.5 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $744K | $735K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,275 | 1,481 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +9.2% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.1% | +4.0% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $333 | $406 | $581 |
| Median household income | $55,310 | $65,039 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 32 | 37 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 14
- Employees, 2023
- 147
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 56Businesses 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 the McAlester 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 McAlester area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 43,320−1.1% since 2020
- Households
- 17,851
- Median age
- 41.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,306 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 33
- Median household income
- $55,310+18.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $73,775
- Median home value
- $156,900
- Jobs located here
- 12,742
- Daytime population
- 42,726Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the McAlester 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 McAlester 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 Oklahoma
Every Oklahoma market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Oklahoma for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Oklahoma, with the McAlester area marked.
Top small-town markets in Oklahoma
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Stillwater, OK | 72 | 10 | 3.1 | $1.2M | +2.8% | #60 of 454 |
| 2Ponca City, OK | 52 | 6 | 3.6 | $972K | −0.3% | #210 of 454 |
| 3Tahlequah, OK | 47 | 8 | 4.3 | $781K | +4.5% | #253 of 454 |
| 4Shawnee, OK | 46 | 13 | 4.8 | $730K | +3.5% | #267 of 454 |
| 5Bartlesville, OK | 43 | 13 | 6.2 | $637K | +2.7% | #295 of 454 |
| 6Durant, OK | 39 | 11 | 6.0 | $560K | +10.9% | #321 of 454 |
| 7Ardmore, OK | 39 | 13 | 6.8 | $548K | +1.8% | #322 of 454 |
| 8Duncan, OK | 38 | 12 | 6.8 | $552K | +3.4% | #328 of 454 |
| 9McAlester, OK | 32 | 8 | 4.5 | $744K | −1.1% | #365 of 454 |
| 10Ada, OK | 32 | 10 | 6.6 | $545K | +1.2% | #368 of 454 |
Other business types in the McAlester 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 preschools32
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the McAlester, OK area?
There are 8 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the McAlester area 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 also show 56 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the McAlester, OK area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $5.9M a year, or $333 per household. That is 43% below the U.S. average (an index of 57, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 8 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $744K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 17,851 households in the McAlester area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the McAlester, OK area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The McAlester area has 4.5 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $744K, 26% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the McAlester area would have about 6, against 8 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,275 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the McAlester, OK area growing?
Population estimates put the McAlester area at 43,320 people in 2025, down 1.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 17,851 households. The median household income in the McAlester area is $55,310 a year, 31% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 18.2% 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 McAlester area scores 32 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #365 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 McAlester 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 McAlester area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the McAlester 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 McAlester 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.