Child care · Metro area · Tennessee
Child care centers and preschools in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 29 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #334 of 387 scored metro areas
#10 of 10 scored metro areas based in Tennessee
- Listings
- 330
- 38 chain locations (12%)
- Official establishments
- 311
- −1.0% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $228.9M
- On child care and other personal services · $438 a household
- Spending per listing
- $694K
- 31% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.3
- 9% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 1,341,412
- −0.3% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Memphis metro 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 Memphis metro 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
For child care centers and preschools, the Memphis metro area has a Groundwork market score of 29 (lower middle): #334 of 387 scored metro areas and #10 of 10 scored metro areas based in Tennessee. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Memphis metro area comes to about $228.9M a year: $438 per household, 25% below the U.S. average. Spread across 330 child care centers and preschools, that is $694K per center, 31% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
The Memphis metro area has 330 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 12% of them, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 6.3, 9% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Official counts show 311 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Memphis metro area in 2023, down 1.0% from 2019. That is one for every 1,681 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $5M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Memphis metro area. Population estimates put the population change in the Memphis metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −0.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S.
How the Memphis metro 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 | Memphis metro area | Tennessee | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.3 | 5.0 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $694K | $869K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,681 | 2,274 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −1.0% | +1.3% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.3% | +5.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $438 | $438 | $581 |
| Median household income | $66,401 | $69,595 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 29 | 64 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 311−1.0% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 4,659
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $111.2M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 4,161Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 33038 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 229The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 7
- Amount
- $5M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Memphis metro 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 Memphis metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 1,341,412−0.3% since 2020
- Households
- 522,879
- Median age
- 37.6
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 61%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 4,972 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 270
- Median household income
- $66,401
- Average household income
- $95,119
- Median home value
- $245,900
- Jobs located here
- 640,441
- Daytime population
- 1,368,538Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Memphis metro area?
These figures cover the whole metro area. 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 Memphis metro 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 metro areas in Tennessee for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Tennessee, with the Memphis metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Tennessee
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Knoxville, TN | 74 | 154 | 4.1 | $1.1M | +6.9% | #36 of 387 |
| 2Nashville-Davidson–Murfreesboro–Franklin, TN | 73 | 441 | 5.3 | $998K | +8.7% | #43 of 387 |
| 3Johnson City, TN | 65 | 30 | 3.4 | $1.1M | +4.3% | #85 of 387 |
| 4Morristown, TN | 64 | 18 | 3.8 | $956K | +7.9% | #92 of 387 |
| 5Chattanooga, TN-GA | 60 | 120 | 5.2 | $871K | +5.3% | #121 of 387 |
| 6Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA | 58 | 46 | 3.5 | $1M | +2.3% | #139 of 387 |
| 7Cleveland, TN | 48 | 19 | 3.8 | $1M | +6.1% | #206 of 387 |
| 8Clarksville, TN-KY | 34 | 78 | 6.2 | $626K | +8.5% | #305 of 387 |
| 9Jackson, TN | 30 | 40 | 5.5 | $661K | +2.2% | #330 of 387 |
| 10Memphis, TN-MS-AR | 29 | 330 | 6.3 | $694K | −0.3% | #334 of 387 |
Other business types in the Memphis metro 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 preschools29
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 330 child care centers and preschools in the Memphis metro area. 38 of them (12%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 311 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, down 1.0% from 2019. Official counts list 4,161 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $228.9M a year, or $438 per household. That is 25% below the U.S. average (an index of 75, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 330 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $694K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 522,879 households in the Memphis metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Memphis metro area has 6.3 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 9% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $694K, 31% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Memphis metro area would have about 229, against 330 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,681 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count fell 1.0% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Memphis, TN-MS-AR metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Memphis metro area at 1,341,412 people in 2025, down 0.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 522,879 households. Median household income in the Memphis metro area is $66,401, 18% 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 Memphis metro area scores 29 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #334 of 387 scored metro areas.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Memphis metro 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 Memphis metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Memphis metro 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 Memphis metro 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.