Child care · Metro area · Texas
Child care centers and preschools in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area
Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 70 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #56 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas
- Listings
- 1,608
- 315 chain locations (20%)
- Official establishments
- 1,577
- +11.1% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $1.7B
- On child care and other personal services · $573 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1M
- 3% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.6
- 3% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 8,477,157
- +10.6% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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
Household spending on child care and other personal services in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area comes to about $1.7B a year: $573 per household, in line with the U.S. average. Spread across 1,608 child care centers and preschools, that is $1M per center, 3% above the U.S. figure of $1M.
The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area has 1,608 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. Chain locations make up 20% of them, against 12% across the U.S. That is 5.6 per 10,000 households, 3% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area was 1,577 in 2023, up 11.1% from 2019. That is one for every 1,834 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 12,973 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 166 SBA-backed loans worth $248.3M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area.
Population estimates show the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area grew 10.6% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For child care centers and preschools, the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area has a Groundwork market score of 70 (upper middle): #56 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas. That puts it in the top quarter of metro areas.
How the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area compares
The same measures for Texas 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 | Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area | Texas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.6 | 5.5 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1M | $916K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,834 | 1,761 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +11.1% | +10.1% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +10.6% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $573 | $507 | $581 |
| Median household income | $90,275 | $78,476 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 70 | 65 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 1,577+11.1% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 24,856
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $705.6M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 12,973Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 1,608315 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 1,655The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 166
- Amount
- $248.3M
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 8,477,157+10.6% since 2020
- Households
- 2,891,725
- Median age
- 36.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 60%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.9
- Land area
- 8,676 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 920
- Median household income
- $90,275+28.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $124,389
- Median home value
- $359,500
- Jobs located here
- 4,175,571
- Daytime population
- 8,229,586Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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 Texas
Every Texas market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Texas for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Texas, with the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Texas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Midland, TX | 80 | 30 | 4.3 | $1.4M | +9.8% | #19 of 387 |
| 2Odessa, TX | 77 | 22 | 3.4 | $1.3M | +5.0% | #29 of 387 |
| 3San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX | 73 | 451 | 4.7 | $1M | +9.5% | #42 of 387 |
| 4Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX | 72 | 609 | 6.2 | $1M | +14.0% | #50 of 387 |
| 5Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX | 70 | 1,608 | 5.6 | $1M | +10.6% | #56 of 387 |
| 6Abilene, TX | 67 | 24 | 3.6 | $1.1M | +4.8% | #72 of 387 |
| 7College Station-Bryan, TX | 64 | 47 | 4.4 | $958K | +6.9% | #91 of 387 |
| 8Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX | 62 | 1,504 | 5.7 | $960K | +10.3% | #101 of 387 |
| 9Sherman-Denison, TX | 60 | 29 | 5.2 | $834K | +12.8% | #122 of 387 |
| 10San Angelo, TX | 59 | 17 | 3.6 | $1.1M | +0.3% | #127 of 387 |
Other business types in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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 preschools70
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area?
Map listings as of September 2026 show 1,608 child care centers and preschools in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area. 315 of them (20%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 1,577 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 11.1% from 2019. Official counts also show 12,973 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $1.7B a year, or $573 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 99, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 1,608 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 2,891,725 households in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area has 5.6 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 3% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1M, 3% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area would have about 1,655, against 1,608 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,834 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 11.1% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area at 8,477,157 people in 2025, up 10.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 2,891,725 households. Median household income in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area is $90,275, 12% above the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 28.5%, 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. The Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area scores 70 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #56 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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 Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington 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.