Groundwork

Child care · County · South Carolina

Child care centers and preschools in Pickens County, SC

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in Pickens County, SC, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 79 out of 100: High

Ranked #92 of 1,611 scored counties
#5 of 33 scored counties in South Carolina

Listings
12
1 chain location (8%)
Official establishments
17
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$20M
On child care and other personal services · $382 a household
Spending per listing
$1.7M
67% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
2.3
60% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
139,198
+5.7% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Pickens 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 Pickens 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

For child care centers and preschools, Pickens County has a Groundwork market score of 79 (high): #92 of 1,611 scored counties and #5 of 33 scored counties in South Carolina. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for child care centers and preschools.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 12 child care centers and preschools in Pickens County. One of them (8%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. That is 2.3 per 10,000 households, 60% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Household spending on child care and other personal services in Pickens County comes to about $20M a year: $382 per household, 34% below the U.S. average. That works out to $1.7M per center, 67% above the U.S. figure of $1M.

Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Pickens County in 2023. That is one for every 3,083 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Between 2020 and 2025, the population of Pickens County grew 5.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Pickens 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 Pickens County, SC compared with South Carolina and the U.S.
MeasurePickens CountySouth CarolinaU.S.
Listings per 10k households2.34.35.8
Spending per listing$1.7M$1M$1M
Households per official establishment3,0832,0331,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+13.6%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.7%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$382$438$581
Median household income$61,064$69,324$80,734
Groundwork market score7972

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
15 → 17
Employees, 2023
256
Annual payroll, 2023
$5.7M
One-person businesses, 2023
100Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
121 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
20The 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 Pickens 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 Pickens County

Population, 2025 estimate
139,198+5.7% since 2020
Households
52,414
Median age
39.0
Homes lived in by their owners
71%
Vehicles per household
2.0
Land area
497 sq. mi.
People per square mile
271
Median household income
$61,064+23.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$86,979
Median home value
$231,900
Jobs located here
40,063
Daytime population
119,682Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Pickens 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 Pickens 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 Pickens 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

Other business types in Pickens 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 Pickens County, SC?

There are 12 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Pickens County as of September 2026. One of them (8%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 17 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 100 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $20M a year, or $382 per household. That is 34% below the U.S. average (an index of 66, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 12 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.7M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 52,414 households in Pickens County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Pickens County has 2.3 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 60% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.7M, 67% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Pickens County would have about 20, against 12 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,083 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is Pickens County, SC growing?

Population estimates put Pickens County at 139,198 people in 2025, up 5.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 52,414 households. The median household income in Pickens County is $61,064 a year, 24% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 23.2% from the 2015–2019 survey, 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. Pickens County scores 79 for child care centers and preschools (high), #92 of 1,611 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Pickens 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 Pickens County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Pickens 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 Pickens 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.