Child care · Metro area · Virginia
Child care centers and preschools in the Harrisonburg, VA metro area
The child care centers and preschools in the Harrisonburg, VA metro area, the household spending behind them and how the market ranks against other metro areas.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 50 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #196 of 387 scored metro areas
#9 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia
- Listings
- 28
- 2 chain locations (7%)
- Official establishments
- 23
- −11.5% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $22M
- On child care and other personal services · $440 a household
- Spending per listing
- $786K
- 22% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 5.6
- 3% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 140,155
- +3.5% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Harrisonburg 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 Harrisonburg 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
Map listings as of September 2026 show 28 child care centers and preschools in the Harrisonburg metro area. Chain locations make up 7% of them, against 12% across the U.S. That is 5.6 per 10,000 households, 3% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
Households in the Harrisonburg metro area spend about $22M a year on child care and other personal services, or $440 per household, 24% below the U.S. average. Spread across 28 child care centers and preschools, that is $786K per center, 22% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
Official counts show 23 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Harrisonburg metro area in 2023, down 11.5% from 2019. That is one for every 2,176 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 176 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $797K has gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Harrisonburg metro area.
Population estimates show the Harrisonburg metro area grew 3.5% from 2020 to 2025, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). The Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools in the Harrisonburg metro area is 50 (upper middle), #196 of 387 scored metro areas and #9 of 9 scored metro areas based in Virginia.
How the Harrisonburg 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 | Harrisonburg metro area | Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 5.6 | 5.9 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $786K | $1M | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,176 | 1,702 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | −11.5% | +0.4% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +3.5% | +2.8% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $440 | $602 | $581 |
| Median household income | $75,065 | $93,170 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 50 | 62 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 23−11.5% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 313
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $7.3M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 176Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 282 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 22The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $797K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Harrisonburg 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 Harrisonburg metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 140,155+3.5% since 2020
- Households
- 50,046
- Median age
- 37.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 63%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 867 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 158
- Median household income
- $75,065+32.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $97,373
- Median home value
- $309,300
- Jobs located here
- 66,301
- Daytime population
- 138,028Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Harrisonburg 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 Harrisonburg 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 Harrisonburg 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 |
| 9Harrisonburg, VA | 50 | 28 | 5.6 | $786K | +3.5% | #196 of 387 |
Other business types in the Harrisonburg 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 preschools50
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Harrisonburg, VA metro area?
There are 28 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Harrisonburg metro area as of September 2026. 2 of them (7%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 23 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, down 11.5% from 2019. Official counts list 176 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Harrisonburg, VA metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $22M a year, or $440 per household. That is 24% below the U.S. average (an index of 76, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 28 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $786K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 50,046 households in the Harrisonburg metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Harrisonburg, VA metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Harrisonburg metro area has 5.6 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 3% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $786K, 22% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Harrisonburg metro area would have about 22, against 28 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,176 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count fell 11.5% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Harrisonburg, VA metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Harrisonburg metro area at 140,155 people in 2025, up 3.5% since 2020, in step with the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 50,046 households. The median household income in the Harrisonburg metro area is $75,065 a year, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 32.9% 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 Harrisonburg metro area scores 50 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #196 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 Harrisonburg 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 Harrisonburg metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Harrisonburg 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 Harrisonburg 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.