Child care · Small-town market · Pennsylvania
Child care centers and preschools in the Lock Haven, PA area
How the Lock Haven, 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 56 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #179 of 454 scored small-town markets
#10 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania
- Listings
- 7
- 1 chain location (14%)
- Official establishments
- 11
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $6.6M
- On child care and other personal services · $427 a household
- Spending per listing
- $942K
- 6% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.5
- 22% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 37,870
- +1.3% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Lock Haven 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 Lock Haven 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
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Lock Haven area comes to about $6.6M a year: $427 per household, 26% below the U.S. average. That works out to $942K per center, 6% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
There are 7 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Lock Haven area as of September 2026. One of them (14%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. That is 4.5 per 10,000 households, 22% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Lock Haven area was 11 in 2023. That is one for every 1,402 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 16 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates show the Lock Haven area grew 1.3% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). For child care centers and preschools, the Lock Haven area has a Groundwork market score of 56 (upper middle): #179 of 454 scored small-town markets and #10 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania.
How the Lock Haven 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 | Lock Haven area | Pennsylvania | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.5 | 6.2 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $942K | $941K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,402 | 1,380 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −0.3% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.3% | +0.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $427 | $584 | $581 |
| Median household income | $60,816 | $77,971 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 56 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 11
- Employees, 2023
- 79
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 16Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 71 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 Lock Haven 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 Lock Haven area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 37,870+1.3% since 2020
- Households
- 15,424
- Median age
- 41.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 890 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 42
- Median household income
- $60,816+19.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $77,923
- Median home value
- $175,900
- Jobs located here
- 12,199
- Daytime population
- 34,134Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Lock Haven 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 Lock Haven 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 Lock Haven 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 |
Other business types in the Lock Haven 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 preschools56
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Lock Haven, PA area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 7 child care centers and preschools in the Lock Haven area. One of them (14%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 11 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 16 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Lock Haven, PA area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $6.6M a year, or $427 per household. That is 26% below the U.S. average (an index of 74, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 7 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $942K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,424 households in the Lock Haven area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Lock Haven, PA area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Lock Haven 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 $942K, 6% 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 1,402 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Lock Haven, PA area growing?
Population estimates put the Lock Haven area at 37,870 people in 2025, up 1.3% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,424 households. Median household income in the Lock Haven area is $60,816, 25% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 19.4%, 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 Lock Haven area scores 56 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #179 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 Lock Haven 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 Lock Haven area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lock Haven 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 Lock Haven 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.