Groundwork

Child care · County · Texas

Child care centers and preschools in Ellis County, TX

How Ellis County, TX 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 78 out of 100: High

Ranked #119 of 1,611 scored counties
#20 of 104 scored counties in Texas

Listings
35
4 chain locations (11%)
Official establishments
37
+8.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$40.5M
On child care and other personal services · $565 a household
Spending per listing
$1.2M
16% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.9
16% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
240,867
+24.0% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Ellis 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 Ellis County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey 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, Ellis County has a Groundwork market score of 78 (high): #119 of 1,611 scored counties and #20 of 104 scored counties in Texas. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for child care centers and preschools.

Map listings as of September 2026 show 35 child care centers and preschools in Ellis County. Of those, 4 are chain locations, or 11%, against 12% across the U.S. That is 4.9 per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Households in Ellis County spend about $40.5M a year on child care and other personal services, or $565 per household, 3% below the U.S. average. That is about $1.2M of household spending for each center on map listings, 16% above the U.S. figure of $1M.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Ellis County was 37 in 2023, up 8.8% from 2019. That is one for every 1,939 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $5.8M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in Ellis County. Population estimates show Ellis County grew 24.0% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Ellis County 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.

Child care and preschools in Ellis County, TX compared with Texas and the U.S.
MeasureEllis CountyTexasU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.95.55.8
Spending per listing$1.2M$916K$1M
Households per official establishment1,9391,7611,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+8.8%+10.1%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+24.0%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$565$507$581
Median household income$99,595$78,476$80,734
Groundwork market score7865

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
34 → 37+8.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
515
Annual payroll, 2023
$12.9M
One-person businesses, 2023
315Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
354 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
40The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
7
Amount
$5.8M

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in Ellis 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 Ellis County

Population, 2025 estimate
240,867+24.0% since 2020
Households
71,759
Median age
36.9
Homes lived in by their owners
76%
Vehicles per household
2.1
Land area
936 sq. mi.
People per square mile
228
Median household income
$99,595+29.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$117,930
Median home value
$348,600
Jobs located here
60,835
Daytime population
167,890Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Ellis 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 Ellis County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Child care and preschools across Texas

Every Texas market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Texas for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Texas, with Ellis County marked.

Top counties in Texas

Counties in Texas ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Waller County, TX9352.7$2M+21.9%#3 of 1,611
2Kendall County, TX9295.1$1.4M+19.6%#8 of 1,611
3Comal County, TX91334.6$1.4M+27.9%#13 of 1,611
4Johnson County, TX88233.5$1.4M+20.5%#23 of 1,611
5Montgomery County, TX861194.8$1.3M+24.9%#35 of 1,611
6Rockwall County, TX85225.3$1.4M+28.9%#39 of 1,611
7Hunt County, TX84102.6$1.6M+23.0%#45 of 1,611
8Wise County, TX83104.0$1.4M+21.5%#57 of 1,611
9Chambers County, TX8274.1$1.6M+22.6%#63 of 1,611
10Midland County, TX81294.3$1.4M+10.0%#71 of 1,611
20Ellis County, TX78354.9$1.2M+24.0%#119 of 1,611

Other business types in Ellis County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many child care centers and preschools are in Ellis County, TX?

There are 35 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Ellis County as of September 2026. 4 of them (11%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 37 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 8.8% from 2019. Another 315 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.

How much do households in Ellis County, TX spend on child care and other personal services?

About $40.5M a year, or $565 per household. That is 3% below the U.S. average (an index of 97, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 35 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.2M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 71,759 households in Ellis County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Ellis County, TX compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?

Ellis County has 4.9 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.2M, 16% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Ellis County would have about 40, against 35 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,939 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 8.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.

How fast is Ellis County, TX growing?

Population estimates put Ellis County at 240,867 people in 2025, up 24.0% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 71,759 households. The median household income in Ellis County is $99,595 a year, 23% above the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 29.6% 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. Ellis County scores 78 for child care centers and preschools (high), #119 of 1,611 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Ellis 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 Ellis County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Ellis 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 Ellis 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.