Groundwork

Child care · Small-town market · Oklahoma

Child care centers and preschools in the Ponca City, OK area

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

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 52 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #210 of 454 scored small-town markets
#2 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Oklahoma

Listings
6
1 chain location (17%)
Official establishments
9
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$5.8M
On child care and other personal services · $348 a household
Spending per listing
$972K
3% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.6
38% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
43,490
−0.3% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Ponca City 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 Ponca City area. 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

Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Ponca City area comes to about $5.8M a year: $348 per household, 40% below the U.S. average. That is about $972K of household spending for each center on map listings, 3% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

The Ponca City area has 6 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (17%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. That is 3.6 per 10,000 households, 38% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 9 businesses with payroll in the Ponca City area classed as child care services. That is one for every 1,864 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 89 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show the Ponca City area declined 0.3% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Ponca City area scores 52 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #210 of 454 scored small-town markets and #2 of 15 scored small-town markets based in Oklahoma.

How the Ponca City 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.

Child care and preschools in Ponca City, OK area compared with Oklahoma and the U.S.
MeasurePonca City areaOklahomaU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.65.55.8
Spending per listing$972K$735K$1M
Households per official establishment1,8641,4811,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+9.2%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−0.3%+4.0%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$348$406$581
Median household income$58,423$65,039$80,734
Groundwork market score5237

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
9
Employees, 2023
165
Annual payroll, 2023
$4.4M
One-person businesses, 2023
89Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
61 chain location
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 Ponca City 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 Ponca City area

Population, 2025 estimate
43,490−0.3% since 2020
Households
16,776
Median age
39.1
Homes lived in by their owners
69%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
920 sq. mi.
People per square mile
47
Median household income
$58,423+24.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$77,308
Median home value
$124,700
Jobs located here
15,500
Daytime population
42,294Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Ponca City 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 Ponca City area. 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 small-town markets in Oklahoma for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Oklahoma, with the Ponca City area marked.

Top small-town markets in Oklahoma

Small-town markets in Oklahoma ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Stillwater, OK72103.1$1.2M+2.8%#60 of 454
2Ponca City, OK5263.6$972K−0.3%#210 of 454
3Tahlequah, OK4784.3$781K+4.5%#253 of 454
4Shawnee, OK46134.8$730K+3.5%#267 of 454
5Bartlesville, OK43136.2$637K+2.7%#295 of 454
6Durant, OK39116.0$560K+10.9%#321 of 454
7Ardmore, OK39136.8$548K+1.8%#322 of 454
8Duncan, OK38126.8$552K+3.4%#328 of 454
9McAlester, OK3284.5$744K−1.1%#365 of 454
10Ada, OK32106.6$545K+1.2%#368 of 454

Other business types in the Ponca City 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 Ponca City, OK area?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 6 child care centers and preschools in the Ponca City area. One of them (17%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts also show 89 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Ponca City, OK area spend on child care and other personal services?

About $5.8M a year, or $348 per household. That is 40% below the U.S. average (an index of 60, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 6 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $972K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 16,776 households in the Ponca City area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Ponca City, OK area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?

The Ponca City area has 3.6 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 38% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $972K, 3% below the U.S. figure of $1M. The count on map listings matches the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,864 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is the Ponca City, OK area growing?

Population estimates put the Ponca City area at 43,490 people in 2025, down 0.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 16,776 households. Median household income in the Ponca City area is $58,423, 28% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.8%, 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 Ponca City area scores 52 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #210 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 Ponca City 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 Ponca City area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Ponca City 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 Ponca City 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.