Groundwork

Child care · Metro area · Texas

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

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in the Lubbock, TX metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 47 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #221 of 387 scored metro areas
#15 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas

Listings
69
8 chain locations (12%)
Official establishments
80
+13.4% since 2019
Household spending a year
$58.1M
On child care and other personal services · $413 a household
Spending per listing
$842K
16% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
4.9
16% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
368,431
+4.6% since 2020

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

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Survey estimates 2020–2024 · population estimates 2025 · official business counts 2023 · map listings September 2026 · Data credits · How we measure

What this means

At $413 per household (29% below the U.S. average), households in the Lubbock metro area spend about $58.1M a year on child care and other personal services. That works out to $842K per center, 16% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

There are 69 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Lubbock metro area as of September 2026. Of those, 8 are chain locations, or 12%, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 4.9 for every 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 80 businesses with payroll in the Lubbock metro area classed as child care services, up 13.4% from 2019. That is one for every 1,757 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 377 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 7 SBA-backed loans worth $3.3M have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Lubbock metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Lubbock metro area grew 4.6%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). For child care centers and preschools, the Lubbock metro area has a Groundwork market score of 47 (lower middle): #221 of 387 scored metro areas and #15 of 26 scored metro areas based in Texas.

How the Lubbock 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 Lubbock, TX metro area compared with Texas and the U.S.
MeasureLubbock metro areaTexasU.S.
Listings per 10k households4.95.55.8
Spending per listing$842K$916K$1M
Households per official establishment1,7571,7611,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023+13.4%+10.1%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+4.6%+8.5%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$413$507$581
Median household income$63,629$78,476$80,734
Groundwork market score4765

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
80+13.4% over the period
Employees, 2023
1,572
Annual payroll, 2023
$36M
One-person businesses, 2023
377Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
698 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
58The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
7
Amount
$3.3M

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

Population, 2025 estimate
368,431+4.6% since 2020
Households
140,553
Median age
34.5
Homes lived in by their owners
57%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
5,265 sq. mi.
People per square mile
68
Median household income
$63,629
Average household income
$89,032
Median home value
$202,700
Jobs located here
177,068
Daytime population
365,333Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Lubbock 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 Lubbock metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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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 Lubbock 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
15Lubbock, TX47694.9$842K+4.6%#221 of 387

Other business types in the Lubbock 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 Lubbock, TX metro area?

As of September 2026, map listings count 69 child care centers and preschools in the Lubbock metro area. 8 of them (12%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 80 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 13.4% from 2019. Official counts list 377 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $58.1M a year, or $413 per household. That is 29% below the U.S. average (an index of 71, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 69 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $842K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 140,553 households in the Lubbock metro area and national spending patterns by income.

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

The Lubbock metro area 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 $842K, 16% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Lubbock metro area would have about 58, against 69 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,757 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 13.4% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.

How fast is the Lubbock, TX metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Lubbock metro area at 368,431 people in 2025, up 4.6% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 140,553 households. Median household income in the Lubbock metro area is $63,629, 21% 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 Lubbock metro area scores 47 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #221 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 Lubbock 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 Lubbock metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Lubbock 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 Lubbock 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.