Child care · Metro area · Pennsylvania
Child care centers and preschools in the Reading, PA metro area
The child care centers and preschools in the Reading, PA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 66 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #78 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania
- Listings
- 85
- 12 chain locations (14%)
- Official establishments
- 81
- 0.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $91.8M
- On child care and other personal services · $562 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.1M
- 8% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.2
- 10% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 440,072
- +2.7% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Reading metro 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 Reading metro 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 Reading metro area comes to about $91.8M a year: $562 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. That is about $1.1M of household spending for each center on map listings, 8% above the U.S. figure of $1M.
The Reading metro area has 85 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. 12 of them (14%) are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That is 5.2 per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Official counts show 81 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Reading metro area in 2023, unchanged from 2019. That is one for every 2,015 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 589 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 3 SBA-backed loans worth $3.2M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Reading metro area.
Population estimates show the Reading metro area grew 2.7% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). For child care centers and preschools, the Reading metro area has a Groundwork market score of 66 (upper middle): #78 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 of 16 scored metro areas based in Pennsylvania. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Reading metro 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 | Reading metro area | Pennsylvania | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.2 | 6.2 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.1M | $941K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,015 | 1,380 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | 0.0% | −0.3% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +2.7% | +0.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $562 | $584 | $581 |
| Median household income | $79,777 | $77,971 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 66 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 810.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 1,141
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $30.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 589Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 8512 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 92The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 3
- Amount
- $3.2M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Reading metro 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 Reading metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 440,072+2.7% since 2020
- Households
- 163,236
- Median age
- 40.9
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 71%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 856 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 506
- Median household income
- $79,777+25.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $103,265
- Median home value
- $257,300
- Jobs located here
- 179,513
- Daytime population
- 404,462Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Reading metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Reading metro 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 metro areas in Pennsylvania for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Pennsylvania, with the Reading metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Pennsylvania
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Gettysburg, PA | 77 | 10 | 2.4 | $2.3M | +3.6% | #27 of 387 |
| 2Lancaster, PA | 73 | 96 | 4.5 | $1.3M | +1.9% | #40 of 387 |
| 3Chambersburg, PA | 69 | 21 | 3.3 | $1.6M | +3.0% | #57 of 387 |
| 4York-Hanover, PA | 68 | 91 | 5.0 | $1.1M | +3.6% | #65 of 387 |
| 5Lebanon, PA | 66 | 23 | 4.1 | $1.3M | +2.2% | #77 of 387 |
| 6Reading, PA | 66 | 85 | 5.2 | $1.1M | +2.7% | #78 of 387 |
| 7State College, PA | 61 | 28 | 4.7 | $1.2M | −0.4% | #106 of 387 |
| 8Pittsburgh, PA | 50 | 526 | 5.0 | $1.1M | −1.3% | #191 of 387 |
| 9Harrisburg-Carlisle, PA | 49 | 167 | 6.8 | $850K | +4.2% | #200 of 387 |
| 10Allentown-Bethlehem-Easton, PA-NJ | 48 | 220 | 6.5 | $939K | +3.0% | #207 of 387 |
Other business types in the Reading metro 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 preschools66
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Reading, PA metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 85 child care centers and preschools in the Reading metro area. 12 of them (14%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 81 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, unchanged from 2019. Official counts also show 589 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Reading, PA metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $91.8M a year, or $562 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 85 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.1M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 163,236 households in the Reading metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Reading, PA metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Reading metro area has 5.2 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 10% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.1M, 8% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Reading metro area would have about 92, against 85 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,015 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count held level from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Reading, PA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Reading metro area at 440,072 people in 2025, up 2.7% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 163,236 households. Median household income in the Reading metro area is $79,777, in line with the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 25.2%, 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. 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 Reading metro area scores 66 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #78 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Reading metro 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 Reading metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Reading metro 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 Reading metro 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.