Groundwork

Child care · County · South Carolina

Child care centers and preschools in Lee County, SC

How Lee County, SC compares with other counties and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.

Groundwork market score

Not scored

The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 1.

Listings
1
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
n/a
Fewer than 3, or not published
Household spending a year
$1.6M
On child care and other personal services · $251 a household
Spending per listing
$1.6M
Too few listings to compare
Listings per 10k households
1.6
Too few listings to compare
Population, 2025
15,730
−5.0% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Lee County

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 Lee County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey 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 Lee County comes to about $1.6M a year: $251 per household, 57% below the U.S. average. That is about $1.6M of household spending for each center on map listings.

There is 1 child care center or preschool on map listings in Lee County as of September 2026. That is 1.6 per 10,000 households.

Official counts don’t publish a figure for child care services in Lee County, since they leave out counts under 3. Official counts also show 49 one-person businesses without payroll.

Population estimates show Lee County declined 5.0% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. With 1 child care center or preschool on map listings, Lee County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.

How Lee County 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.

Child care and preschools in Lee County, SC compared with South Carolina and the U.S.
MeasureLee CountySouth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households1.64.35.8
Spending per listing$1.6M$1M$1M
Households per official establishmentn/a2,0331,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+13.6%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−5.0%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$251$438$581
Median household income$44,760$69,324$80,734
Groundwork market scoreNot scored72

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
n/a
Employees, 2023
n/a
Annual payroll, 2023
n/a
One-person businesses, 2023
49Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
10 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
2The 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 Lee County, 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 Lee County

Population, 2025 estimate
15,730−5.0% since 2020
Households
6,351
Median age
43.3
Homes lived in by their owners
70%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
410 sq. mi.
People per square mile
39
Median household income
$44,760+38.3% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$56,408
Median home value
$104,600
Jobs located here
3,773
Daytime population
12,067Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Lee County?

These figures cover the whole county. 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 Lee County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Child care and preschools across South Carolina

Every South Carolina market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in South Carolina for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in South Carolina, with Lee County marked.

Top counties in South Carolina

Counties in South Carolina ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Beaufort County, SC89334.0$1.4M+8.9%#20 of 1,611
2Kershaw County, SC8083.0$1.4M+11.6%#82 of 1,611
3Dorchester County, SC80243.8$1.2M+10.1%#87 of 1,611
4Berkeley County, SC80373.9$1.2M+18.7%#88 of 1,611
5Pickens County, SC79122.3$1.7M+5.7%#92 of 1,611
6Lancaster County, SC79133.2$1.5M+18.3%#93 of 1,611
7Horry County, SC76603.8$1M+20.9%#150 of 1,611
8Anderson County, SC75283.3$1.2M+7.7%#160 of 1,611
9Charleston County, SC74874.9$1.2M+6.4%#177 of 1,611
10Greenville County, SC731054.8$1M+10.6%#204 of 1,611
Lee County, SCNot scored11.6$1.6M−5.0%

Other business types in Lee County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many child care centers and preschools are in Lee County, SC?

As of September 2026, map listings count 1 child care center or preschool in Lee County. The listings count day care centers and preschools. No official count is published for child care services in Lee County: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts list 49 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Lee County, SC spend on child care and other personal services?

About $1.6M a year, or $251 per household. That is 57% below the U.S. average (an index of 43, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1 child care center or preschool on map listings, it comes to $1.6M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 6,351 households in Lee County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Lee County, SC compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?

Lee County has 1 child care center or preschool on map listings, too few for a steady comparison with the U.S. rate. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Lee County would have about 2, against 1 on map listings.

How fast is Lee County, SC growing?

Population estimates put Lee County at 15,730 people in 2025, down 5.0% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 6,351 households. Median household income in Lee County is $44,760, 45% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 38.3%, 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. 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. Lee County has no market score for child care centers and preschools: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 1.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Lee County. 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 Lee County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Lee County?

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 Lee County. 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.