Child care · Small-town market · West Virginia
Child care centers and preschools in the Bluefield, WV-VA area
How the Bluefield, WV-VA 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 37 out of 100: Lower middle
Ranked #336 of 454 scored small-town markets
#3 of 4 scored small-town markets based in West Virginia
- Listings
- 20
- 3 chain locations (15%)
- Official establishments
- 15
- Businesses with payroll, 2023
- Household spending a year
- $12.8M
- On child care and other personal services · $315 a household
- Spending per listing
- $639K
- 36% below the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 4.9
- 16% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 96,138
- −3.8% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Bluefield 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 Bluefield 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 20 child care centers and preschools in the Bluefield area. 3 of them (15%) are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That is 4.9 per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
At $315 per household (46% below the U.S. average), households in the Bluefield area spend about $12.8M a year on child care and other personal services. Spread across 20 child care centers and preschools, that is $639K per center, 36% below the U.S. figure of $1M.
Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in the Bluefield area in 2023. That is one for every 2,701 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts also show 188 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $230K have gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Bluefield area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Bluefield area from 2020 to 2025 at −3.8%, against +3.1% for the U.S. The Bluefield area scores 37 (lower middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #336 of 454 scored small-town markets and #3 of 4 scored small-town markets based in West Virginia.
How the Bluefield 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.
| Measure | Bluefield area | West Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 4.9 | 3.6 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $639K | $1M | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,701 | 1,790 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | n/a | +9.4% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −3.8% | −1.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $315 | $374 | $581 |
| Median household income | $50,550 | $59,608 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 37 | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 15
- Employees, 2023
- 238
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $5.9M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 188Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 203 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 13The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 2
- Amount
- $230K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Bluefield 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 Bluefield area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 96,138−3.8% since 2020
- Households
- 40,514
- Median age
- 44.1
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 73%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 938 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 105
- Median household income
- $50,550
- Average household income
- $70,787
- Median home value
- $120,000
- Jobs located here
- 33,948
- Daytime population
- 95,290Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Bluefield 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 Bluefield 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 West Virginia
Every West Virginia market ranked →The highest-scoring small-town markets 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 Bluefield area marked.
Top small-town markets in West Virginia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1Clarksburg, WV | 51 | 11 | 3.1 | $1.2M | −2.4% | #222 of 454 |
| Cumberland, MD-WV | 42 | 18 | 4.7 | $759K | −1.3% | #302 of 454 |
| 2Fairmont, WV | 41 | 14 | 6.0 | $636K | −1.2% | #310 of 454 |
| 3Bluefield, WV-VA | 37 | 20 | 4.9 | $639K | −3.8% | #336 of 454 |
| 4Elkins, WV | 10 | 10 | 9.4 | $367K | −3.6% | #446 of 454 |
Other business types in the Bluefield 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 preschools37
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Bluefield, WV-VA area?
There are 20 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Bluefield area as of September 2026. 3 of them (15%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 15 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Another 188 one-person businesses have no payroll, by official counts.
How much do households in the Bluefield, WV-VA area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $12.8M a year, or $315 per household. That is 46% below the U.S. average (an index of 54, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 20 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $639K per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 40,514 households in the Bluefield area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Bluefield, WV-VA area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Bluefield area has 4.9 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 16% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $639K, 36% below the U.S. figure of $1M. At the national ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Bluefield area would have about 13, against 20 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,701 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.
How fast is the Bluefield, WV-VA area growing?
Population estimates put the Bluefield area at 96,138 people in 2025, down 3.8% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 40,514 households. The median household income in the Bluefield area is $50,550 a year, 37% 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. 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 Bluefield area scores 37 for child care centers and preschools (lower middle), #336 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 Bluefield 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 Bluefield area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Bluefield 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 Bluefield 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.