Groundwork

Child care · County · Washington

Child care centers and preschools in Whitman County, WA

How Whitman County, WA 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 78 out of 100: High

Ranked #108 of 1,611 scored counties
#8 of 30 scored counties in Washington

Listings
6
1 chain location (17%)
Official establishments
8
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$10.9M
On child care and other personal services · $582 a household
Spending per listing
$1.8M
81% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.2
45% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
48,512
+1.5% since 2020

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

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Survey 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, Whitman County has a Groundwork market score of 78 (high): #108 of 1,611 scored counties and #8 of 30 scored counties in Washington. That puts it in the top 10% of counties for child care centers and preschools.

At $582 per household (in line with the U.S. average), households in Whitman County spend about $10.9M a year on child care and other personal services. That is about $1.8M of household spending for each center on map listings, 81% above the U.S. figure of $1M.

There are 6 child care centers and preschools on map listings in Whitman County as of September 2026. One of them (17%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. Per 10,000 households, that is 3.2, 45% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

In 2023, official counts showed 8 businesses with payroll in Whitman County classed as child care services. That is one for every 2,340 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Population estimates put the population change in Whitman County from 2020 to 2025 at +1.5%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%).

How Whitman County 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.

Child care and preschools in Whitman County, WA compared with Washington and the U.S.
MeasureWhitman CountyWashingtonU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.26.65.8
Spending per listing$1.8M$1.3M$1M
Households per official establishment2,3401,2851,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+7.4%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+1.5%+3.6%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$582$852$581
Median household income$55,406$98,141$80,734
Groundwork market score7870

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
9 → 8
Employees, 2023
172
Annual payroll, 2023
$5M
One-person businesses, 2023
21Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
61 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
11The 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 Whitman 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 Whitman County

Population, 2025 estimate
48,512+1.5% since 2020
Households
18,721
Median age
33.7
Homes lived in by their owners
47%
Vehicles per household
1.8
Land area
2,159 sq. mi.
People per square mile
22
Median household income
$55,406+29.6% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$84,165
Median home value
$359,600
Jobs located here
19,571
Daytime population
49,541Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in Whitman 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 Whitman County. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

Free10 actions over 3 days, no card

Child care and preschools across Washington

Every Washington market ranked →

The highest-scoring counties in Washington for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in Washington, with Whitman County marked.

Top counties in Washington

Counties in Washington ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Stevens County, WA9063.1$1.9M+6.6%#16 of 1,611
2Lewis County, WA87133.9$1.5M+6.7%#27 of 1,611
3Mason County, WA85155.8$1.2M+7.8%#41 of 1,611
4Whatcom County, WA81454.8$1.5M+3.9%#70 of 1,611
5Clark County, WA80824.2$1.9M+5.3%#78 of 1,611
6Cowlitz County, WA80184.1$1.5M+3.5%#80 of 1,611
7Kittitas County, WA79105.0$1.3M+4.2%#101 of 1,611
8Whitman County, WA7863.2$1.8M+1.5%#108 of 1,611
9Spokane County, WA751034.7$1.4M+3.2%#154 of 1,611
10Island County, WA75195.3$1.4M−1.5%#155 of 1,611

Other business types in Whitman County

Each with its Groundwork market score here, out of 100, where it has one.

Questions

How many child care centers and preschools are in Whitman County, WA?

As of September 2026, map listings count 6 child care centers and preschools in Whitman County. One of them (17%) is a chain location. 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 21 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in Whitman County, WA spend on child care and other personal services?

About $10.9M a year, or $582 per household. That is in line with the U.S. average (an index of 100, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 6 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.8M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 18,721 households in Whitman County and national spending patterns by income.

How does Whitman County, WA compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?

Whitman County has 3.2 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 45% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.8M, 81% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Whitman County would have about 11, against 6 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,340 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is Whitman County, WA growing?

Population estimates put Whitman County at 48,512 people in 2025, up 1.5% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 18,721 households. Median household income in Whitman County is $55,406, 31% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 29.6%, 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. Whitman County scores 78 for child care centers and preschools (high), #108 of 1,611 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

Run a Groundwork site report on an address in Whitman 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 Whitman County

Screening a site or an acquisition in Whitman 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 Whitman 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.