Child care · County · South Dakota
Child care centers and preschools in Brown County, SD
The child care centers and preschools in Brown County, SD, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 35 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,235 of 1,611 scored counties
#7 of 10 scored counties in South Dakota
- Listings
- 14
- 1 chain location (7%)
- Official establishments
- 6
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $6.3M
- On child care and other personal services · $386 a household
- Spending per listing
- $449K
- 55% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.6
- 48% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 37,561
- −1.7% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Brown 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 Brown County. 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
Brown County scores 35 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #1,235 of 1,611 scored counties and #7 of 10 scored counties in South Dakota. That puts it in the bottom quarter of counties.
Households in Brown County spend about $6.3M a year on child care and other personal services, or $386 per household, 34% below the U.S. average. Spread across 14 child care centers and preschools, that is $449K per center, 55% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
Brown County has 14 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (7%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 8.6, 48% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 6 businesses with payroll in Brown County classed as child care services. That is one for every 2,714 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $263K has gone to businesses classed as child care services in Brown County. Population estimates put the population change in Brown County from 2020 to 2025 at −1.7%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How Brown County compares
The same measures for South Dakota 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 | Brown County | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 8.6 | 6.7 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $449K | $598K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,714 | 1,306 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +11.6% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −1.7% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $386 | $399 | $581 |
| Median household income | $70,898 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 35 | 26 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 5 → 6
- Employees, 2023
- 140
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 86Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 141 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 6The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $263K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in Brown 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 Brown County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 37,561−1.7% since 2020
- Households
- 16,285
- Median age
- 39.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 1,713 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 22
- Median household income
- $70,898+21.8% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,772
- Median home value
- $221,100
- Jobs located here
- 19,972
- Daytime population
- 38,336Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Brown 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 Brown County. 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 Dakota
Every South Dakota market ranked →The highest-scoring counties in South Dakota for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in South Dakota, with Brown County marked.
Top counties in South Dakota
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Codington County, SD | 56 | 6 | 4.8 | $723K | +4.3% | #673 of 1,611 |
| 2Lawrence County, SD | 46 | 6 | 5.0 | $749K | +14.0% | #927 of 1,611 |
| 3Minnehaha County, SD | 44 | 50 | 5.9 | $709K | +7.6% | #983 of 1,611 |
| 4Lincoln County, SD | 44 | 26 | 9.3 | $553K | +17.5% | #993 of 1,611 |
| 5Pennington County, SD | 39 | 34 | 7.3 | $549K | +6.6% | #1,132 of 1,611 |
| 6Meade County, SD | 37 | 7 | 5.8 | $673K | +2.7% | #1,166 of 1,611 |
| 7Brown County, SD | 35 | 14 | 8.6 | $449K | −1.7% | #1,235 of 1,611 |
| 8Union County, SD | 33 | 9 | 12.3 | $399K | +3.3% | #1,286 of 1,611 |
| 9Brookings County, SD | 31 | 11 | 8.0 | $470K | +9.6% | #1,321 of 1,611 |
| 10Hughes County, SD | 23 | 8 | 11.0 | $379K | −0.9% | #1,445 of 1,611 |
Other business types in Brown County
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 preschools35
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in Brown County, SD?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 14 child care centers and preschools in Brown County. One of them (7%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 6 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 86 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Brown County, SD spend on child care and other personal services?
About $6.3M a year, or $386 per household. That is 34% below the U.S. average (an index of 66, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 14 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $449K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 16,285 households in Brown County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Brown County, SD compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
Brown County has 8.6 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 48% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $449K, 55% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Brown County would have about 6, against 14 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,714 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is Brown County, SD growing?
Population estimates put Brown County at 37,561 people in 2025, down 1.7% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 16,285 households. Median household income in Brown County is $70,898, 12% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 21.8%, 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. Brown County scores 35 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #1,235 of 1,611 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Brown 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 Brown County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Brown 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 Brown 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.