Child care · County · South Dakota
Child care centers and preschools in Lawrence County, SD
How Lawrence 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 · out of 100
Score 46 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #927 of 1,611 scored counties
#2 of 10 scored counties in South Dakota
- Listings
- 6
- 0 chain locations (0%)
- Official establishments
- 9
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $4.5M
- On child care and other personal services · $373 a household
- Spending per listing
- $749K
- 25% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.0
- 14% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 29,459
- +14.0% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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
As of September 2026, map listings count 6 child care centers and preschools in Lawrence County. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 5.0 for every 10,000 households, 14% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in Lawrence County comes to about $4.5M a year: $373 per household, 36% below the U.S. average. That works out to $749K per center, 25% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Lawrence County was 9 in 2023. That is one for every 1,339 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 40 one-person businesses without payroll.
Population estimates show Lawrence County grew 14.0% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in Lawrence County is 46 (lower middle), #927 of 1,611 scored counties and #2 of 10 scored counties in South Dakota.
How Lawrence 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 | Lawrence County | South Dakota | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.0 | 6.7 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $749K | $598K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,339 | 1,306 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +11.6% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +14.0% | +5.3% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $373 | $399 | $581 |
| Median household income | $73,384 | $75,081 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 46 | 26 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7 → 9
- Employees, 2023
- 88
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.5M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 40Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 60 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 5The 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 Lawrence 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 Lawrence County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 29,459+14.0% since 2020
- Households
- 12,054
- Median age
- 44.5
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 65%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 800 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 34
- Median household income
- $73,384+39.4% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $94,174
- Median home value
- $346,500
- Jobs located here
- 13,155
- Daytime population
- 27,824Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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 preschools46
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in Lawrence County, SD?
Lawrence County has 6 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 40 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in Lawrence County, SD spend on child care and other personal services?
About $4.5M a year, or $373 per household. That is 36% below the U.S. average (an index of 64, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 6 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $749K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 12,054 households in Lawrence County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Lawrence County, SD compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
Lawrence County has 5.0 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 14% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $749K, 25% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Lawrence County would have about 5, against 6 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,339 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is Lawrence County, SD growing?
Population estimates put Lawrence County at 29,459 people in 2025, up 14.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 12,054 households. The median household income in Lawrence County is $73,384 a year, 9% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 39.4% 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. Lawrence County scores 46 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #927 of 1,611 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Lawrence 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 Lawrence County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Lawrence 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 Lawrence 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.