Groundwork

Child care · Metro area · Texas

Child care centers and preschools in the Laredo, TX metro area

The child care centers and preschools in the Laredo, TX metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 22 out of 100: Low

Ranked #369 of 387 scored metro areas
#22 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas

Listings
61
3 chain locations (5%)
Official establishments
68
+13.3% since 2019
Household spending a year
$30.3M
On child care and other personal services · $372 a household
Spending per listing
$496K
50% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
7.5
29% above the U.S.
Population, 2025
281,224
+5.2% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Laredo 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 Laredo metro area. 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, the Laredo metro area has a Groundwork market score of 22 (low): #369 of 387 scored metro areas and #22 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas. That puts it in the bottom quarter of metro areas.

As of September 2026, map listings count 61 child care centers and preschools in the Laredo metro area. 3 of them (5%) are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 7.5 for every 10,000 households, 29% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Households in the Laredo metro area spend about $30.3M a year on child care and other personal services, or $372 per household, 36% below the U.S. average. That is about $496K of household spending for each center on map listings, 50% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

In 2023, official counts showed 68 businesses with payroll in the Laredo metro area classed as child care services, up 13.3% from 2019. That is one for every 1,197 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $365K have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Laredo metro area. Population estimates show the Laredo metro area grew 5.2% from 2020 to 2025, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How the Laredo 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.

Child care and preschools in Laredo, TX metro area compared with Texas and the U.S.
MeasureLaredo metro areaTexasU.S.
Listings per 10k households7.55.55.8
Spending per listing$496K$916K$1M
Households per official establishment1,1971,7611,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+13.3%+10.1%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+5.2%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$372$507$581
Median household income$63,058$78,476$80,734
Groundwork market score2265

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
68+13.3% over the period
Employees, 2023
784
Annual payroll, 2023
$14.5M
One-person businesses, 2023
746Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
613 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
30The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$365K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Laredo 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 Laredo metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
281,224+5.2% since 2020
Households
81,373
Median age
30.9
Homes lived in by their owners
65%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
3,362 sq. mi.
People per square mile
80
Median household income
$63,058+35.7% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$81,101
Median home value
$189,900
Jobs located here
100,368
Daytime population
263,275Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Laredo 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 Laredo metro area. 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 metro areas in Texas for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Texas, with the Laredo metro area marked.

Top metro areas in Texas

Metro areas in Texas ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Midland, TX80304.3$1.4M+9.8%#19 of 387
2Odessa, TX77223.4$1.3M+5.0%#29 of 387
3San Antonio-New Braunfels, TX734514.7$1M+9.5%#42 of 387
4Austin-Round Rock-San Marcos, TX726096.2$1M+14.0%#50 of 387
5Dallas-Fort Worth-Arlington, TX701,6085.6$1M+10.6%#56 of 387
6Abilene, TX67243.6$1.1M+4.8%#72 of 387
7College Station-Bryan, TX64474.4$958K+6.9%#91 of 387
8Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX621,5045.7$960K+10.3%#101 of 387
9Sherman-Denison, TX60295.2$834K+12.8%#122 of 387
10San Angelo, TX59173.6$1.1M+0.3%#127 of 387
22Laredo, TX22617.5$496K+5.2%#369 of 387

Other business types in the Laredo metro area

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

Questions

How many child care centers and preschools are in the Laredo, TX metro area?

The Laredo metro area has 61 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. 3 of them (5%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 68 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 13.3% from 2019. Official counts also show 746 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Laredo, TX metro area spend on child care and other personal services?

About $30.3M a year, or $372 per household. That is 36% below the U.S. average (an index of 64, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 61 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $496K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 81,373 households in the Laredo metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Laredo, TX metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?

The Laredo metro area has 7.5 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 29% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $496K, 50% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Laredo metro area would have about 30, against 61 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,197 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 13.3% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.

How fast is the Laredo, TX metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Laredo metro area at 281,224 people in 2025, up 5.2% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 81,373 households. The median household income in the Laredo metro area is $63,058 a year, 22% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 35.7% 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. The Laredo metro area scores 22 for child care centers and preschools (low), #369 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 Laredo 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 Laredo metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Laredo 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 Laredo 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.