Child care · Metro area · South Carolina
Child care centers and preschools in the Columbia, SC metro area
How the Columbia, SC metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 60 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #120 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina
- Listings
- 156
- 24 chain locations (15%)
- Official establishments
- 164
- +11.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $145.9M
- On child care and other personal services · $430 a household
- Spending per listing
- $935K
- 7% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.6
- 21% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 879,918
- +6.0% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Columbia 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 Columbia 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 Columbia metro area comes to about $145.9M a year: $430 per household, 26% below the U.S. average. Spread across 156 child care centers and preschools, that is $935K per center, 7% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
There are 156 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Columbia metro area as of September 2026. 24 of them (15%) are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 4.6 for every 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 164 businesses with payroll in the Columbia metro area classed as child care services, up 11.0% from 2019. That is one for every 2,071 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 1,086 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 5 SBA-backed loans worth $7.4M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Columbia metro area.
Population estimates show the Columbia metro area grew 6.0% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Columbia metro area is 60 (upper middle), #120 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 8 scored metro areas based in South Carolina.
How the Columbia metro area compares
The same measures for South Carolina 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 | Columbia metro area | South Carolina | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.6 | 4.3 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $935K | $1M | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,071 | 2,033 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +11.0% | +13.6% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.0% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $430 | $438 | $581 |
| Median household income | $68,359 | $69,324 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 60 | 72 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 164+11.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 2,063
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $55.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 1,086Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 15624 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 146The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 5
- Amount
- $7.4M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Columbia 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 Columbia metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 879,918+6.0% since 2020
- Households
- 339,601
- Median age
- 39.2
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 69%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 3,703 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 229
- Median household income
- $68,359+22.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,243
- Median home value
- $232,400
- Jobs located here
- 410,492
- Daytime population
- 894,123Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Columbia 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 Columbia 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 South Carolina
Every South Carolina market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in South Carolina for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in South Carolina (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Columbia metro area marked.
Top metro areas in South Carolina
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Hilton Head Island-Bluffton-Port Royal, SC | 86 | 40 | 4.2 | $1.3M | +12.0% | #9 of 387 |
| 2Charleston-North Charleston, SC | 76 | 148 | 4.4 | $1.2M | +10.7% | #31 of 387 |
| 3Greenville-Anderson-Greer, SC | 74 | 149 | 3.9 | $1.1M | +9.0% | #35 of 387 |
| 4Myrtle Beach-Conway-North Myrtle Beach, SC | 72 | 60 | 3.8 | $1M | +20.9% | #49 of 387 |
| Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC | 65 | 570 | 5.3 | $1M | +10.1% | #87 of 387 |
| 5Columbia, SC | 60 | 156 | 4.6 | $935K | +6.0% | #120 of 387 |
| 6Spartanburg, SC | 55 | 61 | 4.3 | $909K | +14.3% | #168 of 387 |
| Augusta-Richmond County, GA-SC | 52 | 102 | 4.4 | $1M | +4.7% | #181 of 387 |
| 7Florence, SC | 27 | 36 | 4.6 | $807K | +0.9% | #344 of 387 |
| 8Sumter, SC | 22 | 18 | 4.4 | $829K | −0.3% | #365 of 387 |
Other business types in the Columbia 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 preschools60
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Columbia, SC metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 156 child care centers and preschools in the Columbia metro area. 24 of them (15%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 164 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 11.0% from 2019. Another 1,086 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Columbia, SC metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $145.9M a year, or $430 per household. That is 26% below the U.S. average (an index of 74, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 156 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $935K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 339,601 households in the Columbia metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Columbia, SC metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Columbia metro area has 4.6 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 21% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $935K, 7% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Columbia metro area would have about 146, against 156 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,071 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Columbia, SC metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Columbia metro area at 879,918 people in 2025, up 6.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 339,601 households. Median household income in the Columbia metro area is $68,359, 15% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.1%, 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 Columbia metro area scores 60 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #120 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 Columbia 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 Columbia metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Columbia 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 Columbia 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.