Groundwork

Child care · County · Wisconsin

Child care centers and preschools in Manitowoc County, WI

Competitor counts, household spending and official business counts for child care centers and preschools in Manitowoc County, WI, set against other counties and the U.S.

Groundwork market score · out of 100

Score 69 out of 100: Upper middle

Ranked #275 of 1,611 scored counties
#7 of 45 scored counties in Wisconsin

Listings
8
0 chain locations (0%)
Official establishments
9
Businesses with payroll, 2023
Household spending a year
$12.4M
On child care and other personal services · $353 a household
Spending per listing
$1.6M
55% above the U.S.
Listings per 10k households
2.3
60% below the U.S.
Population, 2025
81,710
+0.4% since 2020

See the child care centers and preschools around any address in Manitowoc 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 Manitowoc County. 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

Households in Manitowoc County spend about $12.4M a year on child care and other personal services, or $353 per household, 39% below the U.S. average. Spread across 8 child care centers and preschools, that is $1.6M per center, 55% above the U.S. figure of $1M.

Manitowoc County has 8 child care centers and preschools on map listings as of September 2026. None of them are chain locations, against 12% across the U.S. That comes to 2.3 for every 10,000 households, 60% below the U.S. rate of 5.8.

Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in Manitowoc County in 2023. That is one for every 3,910 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S. Official counts list 59 one-person businesses without payroll. Since fiscal 2022, 2 SBA-backed loans worth $450K have gone to businesses classed as child care services in Manitowoc County.

Population estimates put the population change in Manitowoc County from 2020 to 2025 at +0.4%, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). Manitowoc County scores 69 (upper middle) on the Groundwork market score for child care centers and preschools, ranking #275 of 1,611 scored counties and #7 of 45 scored counties in Wisconsin. That puts it in the top quarter of counties.

How Manitowoc County compares

The same measures for Wisconsin 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 Manitowoc County, WI compared with Wisconsin and the U.S.
MeasureManitowoc CountyWisconsinU.S.
Listings per 10k households2.35.15.8
Spending per listing$1.6M$832K$1M
Households per official establishment3,9101,5611,573
Official establishment growth, 2019–2023n/a+0.3%+5.7%
Population growth, 2020–2025+0.4%+1.3%+3.1%
Spending per household on child care and other personal services$353$422$581
Median household income$69,148$77,485$80,734
Groundwork market score6935

Official counts and lending

Businesses

Official establishments, 2019 to 2023
10 → 9
Employees, 2023
138
Annual payroll, 2023
$3.1M
One-person businesses, 2023
59Businesses with no payroll
Map listings, September 2026
80 chain locations
Listings at the U.S. rate for this spending
12The U.S. ratio of listings to household spending, applied here

SBA-backed loans since fiscal 2022

Loans
2
Amount
$450K

SBA-backed loans to businesses classed as child care services in Manitowoc 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 Manitowoc County

Population, 2025 estimate
81,710+0.4% since 2020
Households
35,188
Median age
45.5
Homes lived in by their owners
77%
Vehicles per household
1.9
Land area
589 sq. mi.
People per square mile
138
Median household income
$69,148+22.1% vs. 2015–2019, before inflation
Average household income
$87,528
Median home value
$186,900
Jobs located here
33,176
Daytime population
74,436Residents who don’t work, plus everyone whose job is here

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

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Child care and preschools across Wisconsin

Every Wisconsin market ranked →

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

Top counties in Wisconsin

Counties in Wisconsin ranked for child care centers and preschools by Groundwork market score
MarketScoreListingsPer 10k householdsSpending per listingPopulation growthU.S. rank
1Washington County, WI74183.2$1.6M+1.8%#169 of 1,611
2Door County, WI7153.3$1.2M+1.6%#232 of 1,611
3Fond du Lac County, WI70102.3$1.7M+0.5%#250 of 1,611
4Walworth County, WI70133.0$1.5M+0.8%#251 of 1,611
5Marathon County, WI69122.1$1.9M+1.0%#271 of 1,611
6Sauk County, WI6972.5$1.6M+1.3%#274 of 1,611
7Manitowoc County, WI6982.3$1.6M+0.4%#275 of 1,611
8Outagamie County, WI69303.8$1.2M+2.6%#287 of 1,611
9Pierce County, WI6774.4$1.1M+3.1%#340 of 1,611
10St. Croix County, WI67215.6$987K+4.7%#342 of 1,611

Other business types in Manitowoc 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 Manitowoc County, WI?

Map listings as of September 2026 show 8 child care centers and preschools in Manitowoc County. None of them are chain locations. The listings count day care centers and preschools. Official counts show 9 businesses with payroll classed as child care services in 2023. Official counts also show 59 one-person businesses without payroll.

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

About $12.4M a year, or $353 per household. That is 39% below the U.S. average (an index of 61, where 100 is the U.S. average). Spread across the 8 child care centers and preschools on map listings, it comes to $1.6M per center. It is estimated from the incomes of the 35,188 households in Manitowoc County and national spending patterns by income.

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

Manitowoc County has 2.3 child care centers and preschools per 10,000 households, 60% below the U.S. rate of 5.8. Spending per center is $1.6M, 55% above the U.S. figure of $1M. At the U.S. ratio of child care centers and preschools to household spending, Manitowoc County would have about 12, against 8 on map listings. There is one business with payroll in the industry for every 3,910 households, against one for every 1,573 across the U.S.

How fast is Manitowoc County, WI growing?

Population estimates put Manitowoc County at 81,710 people in 2025, up 0.4% since 2020, slower than the U.S. (+3.1%). It has 35,188 households. Median household income in Manitowoc County is $69,148, 14% below the U.S. median of $80,734. Against the 2015–2019 survey, the median rose 22.1%, 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. Manitowoc County scores 69 for child care centers and preschools (upper middle), #275 of 1,611 scored counties.

How can I see the market around a specific site?

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

Screening a site or an acquisition in Manitowoc 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 Manitowoc 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.