Child care · Small-town market · Tennessee
Child care centers and preschools in the Cookeville, TN area
How the Cookeville, TN area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 54 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #202 of 454 scored small-town markets
#7 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Tennessee
- Listings
- 32
- 1 chain location (3%)
- Official establishments
- 29
- −3.3% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $20.5M
- On child care and other personal services · $349 a household
- Spending per listing
- $640K
- 36% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.5
- 5% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 152,477
- +7.6% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Cookeville area
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 the Cookeville area. 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
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Cookeville area comes to about $20.5M a year: $349 per household, 40% below the U.S. average. That works out to $640K per center, 36% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
There are 32 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Cookeville area as of September 2026. One of them (3%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. That is 5.5 per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 29 businesses with payroll in the Cookeville area classed as child care services, down 3.3% from 2019. That is one for every 2,024 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 169 one-person businesses without payroll.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Cookeville area grew 7.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Cookeville area is 54 (upper middle), #202 of 454 scored small-town markets and #7 of 14 scored small-town markets based in Tennessee.
How the Cookeville area compares
The same measures for Tennessee 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 | Cookeville area | Tennessee | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.5 | 5.0 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $640K | $869K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,024 | 2,274 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −3.3% | +1.3% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +7.6% | +5.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $349 | $438 | $581 |
| Median household income | $55,380 | $69,595 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 54 | 64 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 29−3.3% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 337
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $7.4M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 169Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 321 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 the Cookeville area, 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 the Cookeville area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 152,477+7.6% since 2020
- Households
- 58,693
- Median age
- 40.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 68%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.1
- Land area
- 1,520 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 96
- Median household income
- $55,380
- Average household income
- $75,930
- Median home value
- $237,000
- Jobs located here
- 55,382
- Daytime population
- 142,620Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Cookeville area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 the Cookeville area. 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 Tennessee
Every Tennessee market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Tennessee for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with the Cookeville area marked.
Top small-town markets in Tennessee
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Athens, TN | 80 | 6 | 2.3 | $1.6M | +8.2% | #18 of 454 |
| 2Greeneville, TN | 74 | 8 | 2.8 | $1.2M | +5.0% | #48 of 454 |
| 3Crossville, TN | 74 | 9 | 3.2 | $1M | +8.0% | #51 of 454 |
| 4Lewisburg, TN | 70 | 5 | 3.7 | $1.1M | +10.5% | #74 of 454 |
| 5Sevierville, TN | 66 | 15 | 3.7 | $1M | +2.5% | #109 of 454 |
| 6Paris, TN | 55 | 5 | 3.7 | $828K | +2.3% | #189 of 454 |
| 7Cookeville, TN | 54 | 32 | 5.5 | $640K | +7.6% | #202 of 454 |
| 8Lawrenceburg, TN | 46 | 8 | 4.7 | $703K | +6.2% | #269 of 454 |
| 9Shelbyville, TN | 41 | 17 | 8.7 | $441K | +9.7% | #313 of 454 |
| 10McMinnville, TN | 39 | 10 | 6.2 | $525K | +6.5% | #324 of 454 |
Other business types in the Cookeville area
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 preschools54
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Cookeville, TN area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 32 child care centers and preschools in the Cookeville area. One of them (3%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 29 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, down 3.3% from 2019. Official counts also show 169 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Cookeville, TN area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $20.5M a year, or $349 per household. That is 40% below the U.S. average (an index of 60, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 32 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $640K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 58,693 households in the Cookeville area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Cookeville, TN area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Cookeville area has 5.5 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 5% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $640K, 36% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Cookeville area would have about 20, against 32 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,024 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count fell 3.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Cookeville, TN area growing?
Population estimates put the Cookeville area at 152,477 people in 2025, up 7.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 58,693 households. Median household income in the Cookeville area is $55,380, 31% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Cookeville area scores 54 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #202 of 454 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Cookeville area. 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 the Cookeville area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Cookeville area?
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 the Cookeville area. 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.