Child care · Small-town market · Washington
Child care centers and preschools in the Centralia, WA area
How the Centralia, WA area compares with other small-town markets and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 90 out of 100: Very high
Ranked #2 of 454 scored small-town markets
#1 of 8 scored small-town markets based in Washington
- Listings
- 13
- 1 chain location (8%)
- Official establishments
- 12
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $19.5M
- On child care and other personal services · $592 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.5M
- 50% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.9
- 33% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 88,062
- +6.7% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Centralia 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 Centralia 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
For child care centers and preschools, the Centralia area has a Groundwork market score of 90 (very high): #2 of 454 scored small-town markets and #1 of 8 scored small-town markets based in Washington. That puts it in the top 10% of small-town markets for child care centers and preschools.
As of September 2026, map listings count 13 child care centers and preschools in the Centralia area. One of them (8%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.9, 33% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
At $592 per household (2% above the U.S. average), households in the Centralia area spend about $19.5M a year on child care and other personal services. That works out to $1.5M per center, 50% above the U.S. figure of $1M.
The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Centralia area was 12 in 2023. That is one for every 2,743 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $690K has gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Centralia area. Population estimates put the population change in the Centralia area from 2020 to 2025 at +6.7%, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%).
How the Centralia area compares
The same measures for Washington 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 | Centralia area | Washington | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.9 | 6.6 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.5M | $1.3M | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,743 | 1,285 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +7.4% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | +6.7% | +3.6% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $592 | $852 | $581 |
| Median household income | $74,796 | $98,141 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 90 | 70 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 12
- Employees, 2023
- 92
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $2.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 43Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 131 chain location
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 19The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $690K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Centralia 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 Centralia area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 88,062+6.7% since 2020
- Households
- 32,916
- Median age
- 42.8
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 76%
- Vehicles per household
- 2.2
- Land area
- 2,403 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 35
- Median household income
- $74,796+39.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
- Average household income
- $92,194
- Median home value
- $385,800
- Jobs located here
- 25,436
- Daytime population
- 72,396Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Centralia area?
These figures cover the whole small-town market. 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 Centralia 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 Washington
Every Washington market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets in Washington for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Washington, with the Centralia area marked.
Top small-town markets in Washington
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Centralia, WA | 90 | 13 | 3.9 | $1.5M | +6.7% | #2 of 454 |
| 2Shelton, WA | 89 | 15 | 5.8 | $1.2M | +7.8% | #5 of 454 |
| 3Ellensburg, WA | 82 | 10 | 5.0 | $1.3M | +4.2% | #12 of 454 |
| 4Pullman, WA | 81 | 6 | 3.2 | $1.8M | +1.5% | #14 of 454 |
| 5Aberdeen, WA | 78 | 14 | 4.6 | $1.1M | +3.0% | #28 of 454 |
| 6Oak Harbor, WA | 77 | 19 | 5.3 | $1.4M | −1.5% | #32 of 454 |
| 7Port Angeles, WA | 71 | 17 | 4.9 | $1.2M | +1.1% | #65 of 454 |
| 8Moses Lake, WA | 65 | 19 | 5.4 | $1.1M | +6.3% | #113 of 454 |
Other business types in the Centralia 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 preschools90
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Centralia, WA area?
The Centralia area has 13 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. One of them (8%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 12 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts list 43 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Centralia, WA area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $19.5M a year, or $592 per household. That is 2% above the U.S. average (an index of 102, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 13 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.5M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 32,916 households in the Centralia area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Centralia, WA area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Centralia area has 3.9 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 33% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.5M, 50% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Centralia area would have about 19, against 13 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,743 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Centralia, WA area growing?
Population estimates put the Centralia area at 88,062 people in 2025, up 6.7% since 2020, faster than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 32,916 households. The median household income in the Centralia area is $74,796 a year, 7% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 39.9% 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. A small-town market is a town of 10,000 to 50,000 people and the county or counties tied to it by commuting. 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 Centralia area scores 90 for child care centers and preschools (very high), #2 of 454 scored small-town markets.
How can I see the market around a specific site?
Run a Groundwork site report on an address in the Centralia 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 Centralia area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Centralia 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 Centralia 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.