Child care · Metro area · Virginia
Child care centers and preschools in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA metro area
How the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 57 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #143 of 387 scored metro areas
#6 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia
- Listings
- 24
- 1 chain location (4%)
- Official establishments
- 38
- −9.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $30.7M
- On child care and other personal services · $436 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.3M
- 28% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.4
- 41% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 181,616
- −0.1% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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
At $436 per household (25% below the U.S. average), households in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area spend about $30.7M a year on child care and other personal services. That is about $1.3M of household spending for each center on map listings, 28% above the U.S. figure of $1M.
There are 24 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area as of September 2026. One of them (4%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.4, 41% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Official counts show 38 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area in 2023, down 9.5% from 2019. That is one for every 1,850 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 129 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $75K has gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area.
Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area declined 0.1%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For child care centers and preschools, the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area has a Groundwork market score of 57 (upper middle): #143 of 387 scored metro areas and #6 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia.
How the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area compares
The same measures for Virginia 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 | Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.4 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.3M | $1M | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 1,850 | 1,702 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −9.5% | +0.4% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −0.1% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $436 | $602 | $581 |
| Median household income | $65,839 | $93,170 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 57 | 62 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 38−9.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 568
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $12.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 129Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 241 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 31The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $75K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 181,616−0.1% since 2020
- Households
- 70,282
- Median age
- 38.7
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 63%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.0
- Land area
- 1,455 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 125
- Median household income
- $65,839
- Average household income
- $91,263
- Median home value
- $240,900
- Jobs located here
- 72,190
- Daytime population
- 185,735Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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 Virginia
Every Virginia market ranked →The highest-scoring metro areas in Virginia for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Virginia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area marked.
Top metro areas in Virginia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Winchester, VA-WV | 74 | 29 | 5.2 | $986K | +6.5% | #38 of 387 |
| 2Staunton-Stuarts Draft, VA | 66 | 20 | 3.8 | $1M | +3.2% | #79 of 387 |
| 3Richmond, VA | 62 | 300 | 5.6 | $973K | +5.5% | #100 of 387 |
| 4Lynchburg, VA | 61 | 36 | 3.5 | $1.2M | +2.9% | #107 of 387 |
| 5Charlottesville, VA | 61 | 52 | 5.7 | $1M | +3.1% | #110 of 387 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 58 | 1,804 | 7.6 | $1M | +3.3% | #138 of 387 |
| Kingsport-Bristol, TN-VA | 58 | 46 | 3.5 | $1M | +2.3% | #139 of 387 |
| 6Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA | 57 | 24 | 3.4 | $1.3M | −0.1% | #143 of 387 |
| 7Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk, VA-NC | 52 | 387 | 5.5 | $925K | +0.9% | #184 of 387 |
| 8Roanoke, VA | 51 | 57 | 4.3 | $986K | +0.4% | #187 of 387 |
Other business types in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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 preschools57
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 24 child care centers and preschools in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area. One of them (4%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 38 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, down 9.5% from 2019. Another 129 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $30.7M a year, or $436 per household. That is 25% below the U.S. average (an index of 75, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 24 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.3M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 70,282 households in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area has 3.4 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 41% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.3M, 28% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area would have about 31, against 24 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 1,850 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count fell 9.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford, VA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area at 181,616 people in 2025, down 0.1% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 70,282 households. Median household income in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area is $65,839, 18% 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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area scores 57 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #143 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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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 Blacksburg-Christiansburg-Radford 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.