Child care · Small-town market · Pennsylvania
Child care centers and preschools in the St. Marys, PA area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in the St. Marys, PA area, set against other small-town markets and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #254 of 454 scored small-town markets
#14 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania
- Listings
- 7
- 1 chain location (14%)
- Official establishments
- 7
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $5.4M
- On child care and other personal services · $407 a household
- Spending per listing
- $776K
- 23% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.3
- 9% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 29,926
- −3.3% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the St. Marys 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 St. Marys 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
At $407 per household (30% below the U.S. average), households in the St. Marys area spend about $5.4M a year on child care and other personal services. That works out to $776K per center, 23% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The St. Marys area has 7 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (14%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. That is 5.3 per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 7 businesses with payroll in the St. Marys area classed as child care services. That is one for every 1,904 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 17 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates show the St. Marys area declined 3.3% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. The St. Marys area scores 47 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #254 of 454 scored small-town markets and #14 of 18 scored small-town markets based in Pennsylvania.
How the St. Marys 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 | St. Marys area | Pennsylvania | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.3 | 6.2 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $776K | $941K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,904 | 1,380 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | −0.3% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.3% | +0.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $407 | $584 | $581 |
| Median household income | $66,380 | $77,971 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 47 | 42 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7
- Employees, 2023
- 44
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $901K
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 17Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 71 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 5The 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 St. Marys 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 St. Marys area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 29,926−3.3% since 2020
- Households
- 13,325
- Median age
- 47.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 80%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 827 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 37
- Median household income
- $66,380+24.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $81,773
- Median home value
- $133,600
- Jobs located here
- 12,876
- Daytime population
- 29,443Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the St. Marys 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 St. Marys 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 St. Marys 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 |
| 14St. Marys, PA | 47 | 7 | 5.3 | $776K | −3.3% | #254 of 454 |
Other business types in the St. Marys 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 preschools47
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the St. Marys, PA area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 7 child care centers and preschools in the St. Marys area. One of them (14%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 7 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 17 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the St. Marys, PA area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $5.4M a year, or $407 per household. That is 30% below the U.S. average (an index of 70, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 7 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $776K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 13,325 households in the St. Marys area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the St. Marys, PA area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The St. Marys area has 5.3 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 9% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $776K, 23% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the St. Marys area would have about 5, against 7 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,904 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the St. Marys, PA area growing?
Population estimates put the St. Marys area at 29,926 people in 2025, down 3.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 13,325 households. Median household income in the St. Marys area is $66,380, 18% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.2%, 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. 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 St. Marys area scores 47 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #254 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 St. Marys 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 St. Marys area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the St. Marys 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 St. Marys 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.