Child care · Small-town market · Pennsylvania
Child care centers and preschools in the Bradford, PA area
How the Bradford, PA 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 36 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #345 of 454 scored small-town markets
#17 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania
- Listings
- 10
- 1 chain location (10%)
- Official establishments
- 12
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $6.7M
- On child care and other personal services · $412 a household
- Spending per listing
- $675K
- 33% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.1
- 5% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 38,984
- −3.5% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Bradford 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 Bradford 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
For child care centers and preschools, the Bradford area has a Groundwork market score of 36 (lower middle): #345 of 454 scored small-town markets and #17 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the bottom quarter of small-town markets.
At $412 per household (29% below the U.S. average), households in the Bradford area spend about $6.7M a year on child care and other personal services. That works out to $675K per center, 33% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
There are 10 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Bradford area as of September 2026. One of them (10%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.1, 5% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 12 businesses with payroll in the Bradford area classed as child care services. That is one for every 1,364 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Population estimates show the Bradford area declined 3.5% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Bradford area compares
The same measures for Pennsylvania 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 | Bradford area | Pennsylvania | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.1 | 6.2 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $675K | $941K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,364 | 1,380 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −0.3% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.5% | +0.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $412 | $584 | $581 |
| Median household income | $62,905 | $77,971 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 36 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 12
- Employees, 2023
- 97
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 19Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 101 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 7The 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 Bradford 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 Bradford area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 38,984−3.5% since 2020
- Households
- 16,369
- Median age
- 44.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 78%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.6
- Land area
- 980 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 41
- Median household income
- $62,905+29.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $79,484
- Median home value
- $104,500
- Jobs located here
- 13,613
- Daytime population
- 37,207Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Bradford 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 Bradford 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 Pennsylvania
Every Pennsylvania market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Pennsylvania for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the Bradford area marked.
Top small-town markets in Pennsylvania
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hemlock Farms, PA | 85 | 12 | 4.9 | $1.2M | +7.2% | #9 of 454 |
| 2Somerset, PA | 66 | 9 | 3.1 | $1.3M | −2.7% | #105 of 454 |
| 3Pottsville, PA | 66 | 21 | 3.6 | $1.2M | +1.5% | #106 of 454 |
| 4Meadville, PA | 66 | 12 | 3.5 | $1.1M | −2.4% | #107 of 454 |
| 5Bloomsburg-Berwick, PA | 64 | 10 | 3.8 | $1.2M | +2.3% | #116 of 454 |
| 6Warren, PA | 63 | 6 | 3.7 | $1.1M | −3.8% | #120 of 454 |
| 7Hermitage, PA | 63 | 20 | 4.3 | $982K | −2.4% | #121 of 454 |
| 8Indiana, PA | 62 | 11 | 3.4 | $1.2M | −0.3% | #127 of 454 |
| 9Oil City, PA | 56 | 7 | 3.3 | $1.2M | −2.0% | #177 of 454 |
| 10Lock Haven, PA | 56 | 7 | 4.5 | $942K | +1.3% | #179 of 454 |
| 17Bradford, PA | 36 | 10 | 6.1 | $675K | −3.5% | #345 of 454 |
Other business types in the Bradford 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 preschools36
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Bradford, PA area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 10 child care centers and preschools in the Bradford area. One of them (10%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts also show 19 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Bradford, PA area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $6.7M a year, or $412 per household. That is 29% below the U.S. average (an index of 71, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 10 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $675K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 16,369 households in the Bradford area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Bradford, PA area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Bradford area has 6.1 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 5% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $675K, 33% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Bradford area would have about 7, against 10 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,364 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Bradford, PA area growing?
Population estimates put the Bradford area at 38,984 people in 2025, down 3.5% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 16,369 households. Median household income in the Bradford area is $62,905, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.3%, 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 Bradford area scores 36 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #345 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 Bradford 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 Bradford area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Bradford 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 Bradford 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.