Child care · County · Texas
Child care centers and preschools in Wharton County, TX
How Wharton 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 43 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #1,022 of 1,611 scored counties
#81 of 104 scored counties in Texas
- Listings
- 11
- 3 chain locations (27%)
- Official establishments
- 8
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $6.7M
- On child care and other personal services · $422 a household
- Spending per listing
- $610K
- 39% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 6.9
- 19% above the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 42,060
- +1.2% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Wharton 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 Wharton County. 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 11 child care centers and preschools in Wharton County. Chain locations make up 27% of them, against 12% across the U.S. That is 6.9 per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 5.8.
At $422 per household (27% below the U.S. average), households in Wharton County spend about $6.7M a year on child care and other personal services. That is about $610K of household spending for each center on map listings, 39% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Wharton County in 2023. That is one for every 1,986 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 134 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
Population estimates show Wharton County grew 1.2% from 2020 to 2025, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Wharton County scores 43 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #1,022 of 1,611 scored counties and #81 of 104 scored counties in Texas.
How Wharton 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.
| Measure | Wharton County | Texas | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 6.9 | 5.5 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $610K | $916K | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,986 | 1,761 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +10.1% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +1.2% | +8.5% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $422 | $507 | $581 |
| Median household income | $66,924 | $78,476 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 43 | 65 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 7 → 8
- Employees, 2023
- 57
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $1.1M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 134Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 113 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 7The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 0
- Amount
- $0
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in Wharton 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 Wharton County
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 42,060+1.2% since 2020
- Households
- 15,890
- Median age
- 37.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 72%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 1,086 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 38
- Median household income
- $66,924+38.5% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $95,050
- Median home value
- $189,900
- Jobs located here
- 15,145
- Daytime population
- 34,718Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in Wharton 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 Wharton County. 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 counties in Texas for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Texas, with Wharton County marked.
Top counties in Texas
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Waller County, TX | 93 | 5 | 2.7 | $2M | +21.9% | #3 of 1,611 |
| 2Kendall County, TX | 92 | 9 | 5.1 | $1.4M | +19.6% | #8 of 1,611 |
| 3Comal County, TX | 91 | 33 | 4.6 | $1.4M | +27.9% | #13 of 1,611 |
| 4Johnson County, TX | 88 | 23 | 3.5 | $1.4M | +20.5% | #23 of 1,611 |
| 5Montgomery County, TX | 86 | 119 | 4.8 | $1.3M | +24.9% | #35 of 1,611 |
| 6Rockwall County, TX | 85 | 22 | 5.3 | $1.4M | +28.9% | #39 of 1,611 |
| 7Hunt County, TX | 84 | 10 | 2.6 | $1.6M | +23.0% | #45 of 1,611 |
| 8Wise County, TX | 83 | 10 | 4.0 | $1.4M | +21.5% | #57 of 1,611 |
| 9Chambers County, TX | 82 | 7 | 4.1 | $1.6M | +22.6% | #63 of 1,611 |
| 10Midland County, TX | 81 | 29 | 4.3 | $1.4M | +10.0% | #71 of 1,611 |
| 81Wharton County, TX | 43 | 11 | 6.9 | $610K | +1.2% | #1,022 of 1,611 |
Other business types in Wharton County
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 preschools43
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in Wharton County, TX?
There are 11 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Wharton County as of September 2026. 3 of them (27%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 8 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 134 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in Wharton County, TX spend on child care and other personal services?
About $6.7M a year, or $422 per household. That is 27% below the U.S. average (an index of 73, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 11 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $610K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 15,890 households in Wharton County and national spending patterns by income.
How does Wharton County, TX compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
Wharton County has 6.9 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 19% above the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $610K, 39% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Wharton County would have about 7, against 11 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,986 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is Wharton County, TX growing?
Population estimates put Wharton County at 42,060 people in 2025, up 1.2% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 15,890 households. The median household income in Wharton County is $66,924 a year, 17% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 38.5% 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. Wharton County scores 43 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #1,022 of 1,611 scored counties.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Wharton 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 Wharton County
Screening a site or an acquisition in Wharton 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 Wharton 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.