Child care · County · South Dakota
Child care centers and preschools in Lake County, SD
The child care centers and preschools in Lake County, SD, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other counties.
Groundwork market score
Not scored
The score needs at least 5 listings; this market has 4.
- Listings
- 4
- 1 chain location (25%)
- Official establishments
- n/a
- Fewer than 3, or not published
- Household spending a year
- $1.9M
- On child care and other personal services · $405 a household
- Spending per listing
- $478K
- 52% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 8.5
- 47% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 10,993
- −0.2% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Lake 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 Lake 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
Households in Lake County spend about $1.9M a year on child care and other personal services, or $405 per household, 30% below the U.S. average. That is about $478K of household spending for each center on map listings, 52% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
Lake County has 4 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. That is 8.5 per 10,000 households, 47% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Official counts don’t publish a figure for child care services in Lake County, since they leave out counts under 3. Official counts also show 34 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates put the population change in Lake County from 2020 to 2025 at −0.2%, against +3.1% for the U.S. With 4 child care centers and preschools on map listings, Lake County isn’t given a market score: the score needs at least 5, since one listing more or less would swing it.
How Lake 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 | Lake County | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 8.5 | 6.7 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $478K | $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 | −0.2% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $405 | $399 | $581 |
| Median household income | $76,808 | $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
- 34Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 41 chain location
- 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 Lake 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 Lake County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 10,993−0.2% since 2020
- Households
- 4,716
- Median age
- 44.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.3
- Land area
- 563 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 19
- Median household income
- $76,808+24.2% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $104,754
- Median home value
- $247,600
- Jobs located here
- 5,183
- Daytime population
- 10,346Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Lake 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 Lake 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 Lake 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 |
| Lake County, SD | Not scored | 4 | 8.5 | $478K | −0.2% |
Other business types in Lake 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 preschools
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in Lake County, SD?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 4 child care centers and preschools in Lake County. The listings count day care centers and preschools. No official count is published for child care services in Lake County: counts under 3 are left out. Official counts list 34 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Lake County, SD spend on child care and other personal services?
About $1.9M a year, or $405 per household. That is 30% below the U.S. average (an index of 70, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 4 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $478K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 4,716 households in Lake County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Lake County, SD compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
Lake County has 8.5 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 47% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $478K, 52% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Lake County would have about 2, against 4 on map listings.
How fast is Lake County, SD growing?
Population estimates put Lake County at 10,993 people in 2025, down 0.2% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 4,716 households. Median household income in Lake County is $76,808, 5% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 24.2%, 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. Lake County has no market score for child care centers and preschools: the score needs at least 5 on map listings, and it has 4.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Lake 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 Lake County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Lake 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 Lake 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.