Child care · Metro area · West Virginia
Child care centers and preschools in the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area
How the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area compares with other metro areas and the U.S. for child care centers and preschools: competitors, household spending, official counts and growth.
Groundwork market score · out of 100
Score 53 out of 100: Upper middle
Ranked #174 of 387 scored metro areas
#2 of 7 scored metro areas based in West Virginia
- Listings
- 49
- 3 chain locations (6%)
- Official establishments
- 57
- +5.7% since 2019
- Household spending a year
- $56.7M
- On child care and other personal services · $373 a household
- Spending per listing
- $1.2M
- 16% above the U.S.
- Listings per 10k households
- 3.2
- 45% below the U.S.
- Population, 2025
- 365,965
- −2.6% since 2020
See the child care centers and preschools around any address in the Huntington-Ashland 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 Huntington-Ashland 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
Households in the Huntington-Ashland metro area spend about $56.7M a year on child care and other personal services, or $373 per household, 36% below the U.S. average. Spread across 49 child care centers and preschools, that is $1.2M per center, 16% above the U.S. figure of $1M.
There are 49 child care centers and preschools on map listings in the Huntington-Ashland metro area as of September 2026. 3 of them (6%) are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 3.2 for every 10,000 households, 45% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.
In 2023, official counts showed 57 businesses with payroll in the Huntington-Ashland metro area classed as child care services, up 5.7% from 2019. That is one for every 2,670 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 327 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 1 SBA-backed loan worth $220K has gone to businesses classed as child care services in the Huntington-Ashland metro area.
Population estimates put the population change in the Huntington-Ashland metro area from 2020 to 2025 at −2.6%, against +3.1% for the U.S. For child care centers and preschools, the Huntington-Ashland metro area has a Groundwork market score of 53 (upper middle): #174 of 387 scored metro areas and #2 of 7 scored metro areas based in West Virginia.
How the Huntington-Ashland 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.
| Measure | Huntington-Ashland metro area | West Virginia | U.S. |
|---|---|---|---|
| Listings per 10k households | 3.2 | 3.6 | 5.8 |
| Spending per listing | $1.2M | $1M | $1M |
| Households per official establishment | 2,670 | 1,790 | 1,573 |
| Official establishment growth, 2019–2023 | +5.7% | +9.4% | +5.7% |
| Population growth, 2020–2025 | −2.6% | −1.4% | +3.1% |
| Spending per household on child care and other personal services | $373 | $374 | $581 |
| Median household income | $60,078 | $59,608 | $80,734 |
| Groundwork market score | 53 | 43 |
Official counts and lending
Businesses
- Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
- 57+5.7% over the period
- Employees, 2023
- 916
- Annual payroll, 2023
- $22.8M
- One-person businesses, 2023
- 327Businesses with no payroll
- Map listings, September 2026
- 493 chain locations
- Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
- 57The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here
SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022
- Loans
- 1
- Amount
- $220K
SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in the Huntington-Ashland 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 Huntington-Ashland metro area
- Population, 2025 estimate
- 365,965−2.6% since 2020
- Households
- 152,165
- Median age
- 42.3
- Homes lived in by their owners
- 74%
- Vehicles per household
- 1.8
- Land area
- 2,916 sq. mi.
- People per square mile
- 127
- Median household income
- $60,078
- Average household income
- $80,719
- Median home value
- $154,700
- Jobs located here
- 137,552
- Daytime population
- 362,067Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here
Looking at a specific site in the Huntington-Ashland 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 Huntington-Ashland 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 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 Huntington-Ashland metro area marked.
Top metro areas in West Virginia
| Market | Score | Listings | Per 10k households | Spending per listing | Population growth | U.S. rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Winchester, VA-WV | 74 | 29 | 5.2 | $986K | +6.5% | #38 of 387 |
| Hagerstown-Martinsburg, MD-WV | 67 | 52 | 4.4 | $1M | +7.1% | #74 of 387 |
| Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV | 58 | 1,804 | 7.6 | $1M | +3.3% | #138 of 387 |
| 1Morgantown, WV | 55 | 26 | 4.5 | $984K | +1.3% | #165 of 387 |
| 2Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH | 53 | 49 | 3.2 | $1.2M | −2.6% | #174 of 387 |
| 3Charleston, WV | 45 | 29 | 3.3 | $1.1M | −4.7% | #231 of 387 |
| 4Wheeling, WV-OH | 41 | 19 | 3.3 | $1.1M | −3.6% | #257 of 387 |
| 5Beckley, WV | 38 | 16 | 3.6 | $924K | −4.3% | #276 of 387 |
| 6Parkersburg-Vienna, WV | 34 | 13 | 3.4 | $1M | −2.3% | #298 of 387 |
| 7Weirton-Steubenville, WV-OH | 34 | 20 | 4.0 | $815K | −3.6% | #299 of 387 |
Other business types in the Huntington-Ashland 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 preschools53
Clothing and laundry
Home services
Real estate
Funeral services
Questions
How many child care centers and preschools are in the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area?
As of September 2026, map listings count 49 child care centers and preschools in the Huntington-Ashland metro area. 3 of them (6%) are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 57 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023, up 5.7% from 2019. Official counts also show 327 one-person businesses without payroll.
How much do households in the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area spend on child care and other personal services?
About $56.7M a year, or $373 per household. That is 36% below the U.S. average (an index of 64, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 49 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.2M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 152,165 households in the Huntington-Ashland metro area and national spending patterns by income.
How does the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area compare with the U.S. for child care centers and preschools?
The Huntington-Ashland metro area 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 $1.2M, 16% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, the Huntington-Ashland metro area would have about 57, against 49 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 2,670 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. The official count rose 5.7% from 2019 to 2023, against +5.7% for the U.S.
How fast is the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH metro area growing?
Population estimates put the Huntington-Ashland metro area at 365,965 people in 2025, down 2.6% since 2020, against +3.1% for the U.S. It has 152,165 households. Median household income in the Huntington-Ashland metro area is $60,078, 26% 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. 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 Huntington-Ashland metro area scores 53 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #174 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 Huntington-Ashland 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 Huntington-Ashland metro area
Screening a site or an acquisition in the Huntington-Ashland 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 Huntington-Ashland 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.