Groundwork

Child care · Metro area · West Virginia

Child care centers and preschools in the Beckley, WV metro area

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in the Beckley, WV metro area, set against other metro areas and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 38 out of 100: Lower middle

Ranked #276 of 387 scored metro areas
#5 of 7 scored metro areas based in West Virginia

Listings
16
1 chain location (6%)
Official establishments
20
−4.8% since 2019
Household spending a year
$14.8M
On child care and other personal services · $329 a household
Spending per listing
$924K
8% below the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
3.6
38% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
109,940
−4.3% since 2020

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

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Survey 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 16 child care centers and preschools in the Beckley metro area. One of them (6%) is a chain location, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 3.6 for every 10,000 households, 38% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Households in the Beckley metro area spend about $14.8M a year on child care and other personal services, or $329 per household, 43% below the U.S. average. That works out to $924K per center, 8% below the U.S. figure of $1M.

The official count of businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Beckley metro area was 20 in 2023, down 4.8% from 2019. That is one for every 2,248 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Another 120 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $146K have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Beckley metro area.

Between 2020 and 2025, the population of the Beckley metro area declined 4.3%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For child care centers and preschools, the Beckley metro area has a Groundwork market score of 38 (lower middle): #276 of 387 scored metro areas and #5 of 7 scored metro areas based in West Virginia.

How the Beckley metro area compares

The same measures for West 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.

Child care and preschools in Beckley, WV metro area compared with West Virginia and the U.S.
MeasureBeckley metro areaWest VirginiaU.S.
Listings per 10k households3.63.65.8
Spending per listing$924K$1M$1M
Households per official establishment2,2481,7901,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023−4.8%+9.4%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025−4.3%−1.4%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$329$374$581
Median household income$52,620$59,608$80,734
Groundwork market score3843

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
20−4.8% over the period
Employees, 2023
375
Annual payroll, 2023
$8M
One-person businesses, 2023
120Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
161 chain location
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
15The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$146K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Beckley 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 Beckley metro area

Population, 2025 estimate
109,940−4.3% since 2020
Households
44,952
Median age
43.7
Homes lived in by their owners
76%
Vehicles per household
1.7
Land area
1,267 sq. mi.
People per square mile
89
Median household income
$52,620+22.9% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$69,721
Median home value
$129,600
Jobs located here
43,639
Daytime population
115,613Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

Looking at a specific site in the Beckley 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 Beckley metro area. Signed out, you see a blurred preview; on an account, each report is one action.

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Child care and preschools across West Virginia

Every West Virginia market ranked →

The highest-scoring metro areas in West Virginia for child care centers and preschools, numbered among those based in West Virginia (a market based in another state is listed without a number), with the Beckley metro area marked.

Top metro areas in West Virginia

Metro areas in West Virginia ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
Winchester, VA-WV74295.2$986K+6.5%#38 of 387
Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV67524.4$1M+7.1%#74 of 387
Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV581,8047.6$1M+3.3%#138 of 387
1Morgantown, WV55264.5$984K+1.3%#165 of 387
2Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH53493.2$1.2M−2.6%#174 of 387
3Charleston, WV45293.3$1.1M−4.7%#231 of 387
4Wheeling, WV-OH41193.3$1.1M−3.6%#257 of 387
5Beckley, WV38163.6$924K−4.3%#276 of 387
6Parkersburg-Vienna, WV34133.4$1M−2.3%#298 of 387
7Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH34204.0$815K−3.6%#299 of 387

Other business types in the Beckley metro area

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

Questions

How many child care centers and preschools are in the Beckley, WV metro area?

There are 16 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Beckley metro area as of September 2026. One of them (6%) is a chain location. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 20 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, down 4.8% from 2019. Official counts list 120 one-person businesses without payroll.

How much do households in the Beckley, WV metro area spend on child care and other personal services?

About $14.8M a year, or $329 per household. That is 43% below the U.S. average (an index of 57, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 16 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $924K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 44,952 households in the Beckley metro area and national spending patterns by income.

How does the Beckley, WV metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?

The Beckley metro area has 3.6 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 38% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $924K, 8% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Beckley metro area would have about 15, against 16 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,248 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count fell 4.8% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.

How fast is the Beckley, WV metro area growing?

Population estimates put the Beckley metro area at 109,940 people in 2025, down 4.3% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 44,952 households. The median household income in the Beckley metro area is $52,620 a year, 35% below the U.S. median of $80,734. That rose 22.9% 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 Beckley metro area scores 38 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #276 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 Beckley 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 Beckley metro area

Screening a site or an acquisition in the Beckley 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 Beckley 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.