Groundwork

Child care · Small-town market · Oregon

Child care centers and preschools in the La Grande, OR area

How the La Grande, OR 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 47 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #263 of 454 scored small-town markets
#9 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Oregon

Listings
16
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
3
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$5.9M
On child care and other personal services · $546 a household
Spending per listing
$372K
63% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
14.7
2.5 times the U.S.
Population, 2025
25,900
−1.0% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the La Grande 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 La Grande 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

Households in the La Grande area spend about $5.9M a year on child care and other personal services, or $546 per household, 6% below the U.S. average. That works out to $372K per center, 63% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

There are 16 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the La Grande area as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 14.7 for every 10,000 households, 2.5 times the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the La Grande area in 2023. That is one for every 3,633 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 55 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates put the population change in the La Grande area from 2020 to 2025 at −1.0%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For child care centers and preschools, the La Grande area has a Groundwork market score of 47 (lower middle): #263 of 454 scored small-town markets and #9 of 12 scored small-town markets based in Oregon.

How the La Grande area compares

The same measures for Oregon 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 La Grande, OR area compared with Oregon and the U.S.
MeasureLa Grande areaOregonU.S.
Listings per 10k households14.76.85.8
Spending per listing$372K$1M$1M
Households per official establishment3,6331,1331,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+12.4%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−1.0%+0.7%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$546$712$581
Median household income$65,661$83,011$80,734
Groundwork market score4748

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
3
Employees, 2023
2
Annual payroll, 2023
$99K
One-person businesses, 2023
55Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
160 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 La Grande 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 La Grande area

Population, 2025 estimate
25,900−1.0% since 2020
Households
10,900
Median age
39.9
Homes lived in by their owners
66%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
2,037 sq. mi.
People per square mile
13
Median household income
$65,661+25.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$87,276
Median home value
$294,600
Jobs located here
10,134
Daytime population
25,115Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the La Grande 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 La Grande 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 Oregon

Every Oregon market ranked →

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

Top small-town markets in Oregon

Small-town markets in Oregon ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Roseburg, OR80132.7$1.9M+0.6%#17 of 454
2Astoria, OR7584.4$1.3M−0.6%#44 of 454
3Hermiston-Pendleton, OR71154.5$1.2M+1.8%#66 of 454
4Coos Bay-North Bend, OR68124.2$1.3M−1.5%#84 of 454
5Brookings, OR6154.5$1.2M−3.8%#135 of 454
6Newport, OR60146.1$864K+0.3%#149 of 454
7Klamath Falls, OR59175.9$860K+0.9%#158 of 454
8Baker City, OR5756.8$717K−0.4%#174 of 454
9La Grande, OR471614.7$372K−1.0%#263 of 454
10Ontario, OR-ID432110.5$462K+5.0%#298 of 454

Other business types in the La Grande 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 La Grande, OR area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 16 child care centers and preschools in the La Grande area. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 3 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts also show 55 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the La Grande, OR area spend on child care and other personal services?

About $5.9M a year, or $546 per household. That is 6% below the U.S. average (an index of 94, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 16 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $372K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 10,900 households in the La Grande area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the La Grande, OR area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?

The La Grande area has 14.7 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 2.5 times the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $372K, 63% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the La Grande area would have about 6, against 16 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,633 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is the La Grande, OR area growing?

Population estimates put the La Grande area at 25,900 people in 2025, down 1.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 10,900 households. Median household income in the La Grande area is $65,661, 19% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.9%, 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 La Grande area scores 47 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #263 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 La Grande 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 La Grande area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the La Grande 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 La Grande 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.