Child care · County · South Dakota
Child care centers and preschools in Buffalo County, SD
How Buffalo County, SD 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
Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
- Listings
- 1
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $159K
- On child care and other personal services · $312 a household
- Spending per listing
- $159K
- Too few listings to compare
- Listings per 10k households
- 19.7
- Too few listings to compare
- Population, 2025
- 1,802
- −6.8% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Buffalo 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 Buffalo 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
At $312 per household (46% below the U.S. average), households in Buffalo County spend about $159K a year on child care and other personal services. That works out to $159K per center.
Buffalo County has 1 child care center or preschool on map listings as of September 2026. That is 19.7 per 10,000 households.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for child care services in Buffalo County, since they leave out counts under 3.
Population estimates show Buffalo County declined 6.8% from 2020 to 2025, against +3.1% for the U.S. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t given a market score, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
How Buffalo 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 | Buffalo County | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 19.7 | 6.7 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $159K | $598K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | n/a | 1,306 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +11.6% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −6.8% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $312 | $399 | $581 |
| Median household income | $47,045 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | Not scored | 26 |
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
- Not publishedNot published for this business type
- Map listings, September 2026
- 10 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 0The 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 Buffalo 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 Buffalo County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 1,802−6.8% since 2020
- Households
- 508
- Median age
- 23.0
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 53%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 471 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 4
- Median household income
- $47,045
- Average household income
- $57,605
- Median home value
- $117,800
- Jobs located here
- 472
- Daytime population
- 1,845Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Buffalo 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 Buffalo 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 Buffalo 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 |
| Buffalo County, SD | Not scored | 1 | 19.7 | $159K | −6.8% |
Other business types in Buffalo County
None has a Groundwork market score here. Counties under 10,000 people aren’t scored, since a few businesses can swing their figures.
Food and drink
Groceries and convenience
Auto
Beauty and personal care
Fitness and classes
Health care
Child care
- Child care and preschools
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in Buffalo County, SD?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 1 child care center or preschool in Buffalo County. The listings count day care centers and preschools. No official count is published for child care services in Buffalo County: counts under 3 are left out.
How much do households in Buffalo County, SD spend on child care and other personal services?
About $159K a year, or $312 per household. That is 46% below the U.S. average (an index of 54, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1 child care center or preschool on map listings, it comes to $159K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 508 households in Buffalo County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Buffalo County, SD compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
Buffalo County has 1 child care center or preschool on map listings, too few for a steady comparison with the U.S. rate.
How fast is Buffalo County, SD growing?
Population estimates put Buffalo County at 1,802 people in 2025, down 6.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 508 households. Median household income in Buffalo County is $47,045, 42% below the U.S. median of $80,734.
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 score leaves out counties under 10,000 people, where a handful of businesses would swing it.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Buffalo 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 Buffalo County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Buffalo 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 Buffalo 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.