Child day care centers in Kentucky: 1,045 locations, -0.9% jobs
Official counts for child day care centers in Kentucky, 2026 Q1: how many there are, whether they are adding jobs, what they pay, and how Kentucky compares with the other states. From the Bureau of Labor Statistics and the Census Bureau, refreshed each quarter.
Kentucky against the country · 2026 Q1
| Kentucky | United States | |
|---|---|---|
| Child day care centers with employees | 1,045 | 79,617 |
| Per 100,000 residents | 22.8 | 23.4 |
| Jobs | 12,848 | 988,501 |
| Jobs, year over year | -0.9% | -1.1% |
| Locations, year over year | +0.8% | +0.9% |
| Average weekly wage | $501 | $632 |
| Rank among states, density | 31 of 50 | |
| Rank among states, job growth | 28 of 50 |
What the numbers say
Kentucky has 1,045 child day care centers with payroll, employing 12,848 people. At 22.8 per 100,000 residents the market is close to the national average, number 31 among the 50 states with published data. Jobs fell 0.9% over the year, against -1.1% nationally. Locations grew faster than jobs, which usually means more and smaller operators entering: the kind of market where the cheapest service gets crowded first.
Average pay at child day care centers in Kentucky is $501 a week, 21% below the national figure of $632. Budget labor from this number, not from a national guide.
Over five years, from 2021 to 2025, the number of child day care centers in Kentucky moved +4.4%, from 995 to 1,039.
Child day care centers in Kentucky, annual average
- 2021995
- 20221,009
- 20231,026
- 20241,033
- 20251,039
Jobs at child day care centers in Kentucky
- 202110,546
- 202211,465
- 202312,555
- 202413,056
- 202513,057
What counts as "child day care centers" here
Child day care services: centers and licensed in-home providers caring for infants and children, including preschool programs without a school-system affiliation. The code is NAICS 624410. BLS counts establishments that report payroll, so a one-person business with no employees is not in these figures; in trades with many solo operators the true number of businesses is higher.
Before you open one in Kentucky
A statewide figure tells you which way the wind blows. It does not tell you whether the corner you are looking at has the households, the income and the gap in competition to support one more. A counts the child day care centers within reach of one address in Kentucky, reads the county trend from the same BLS table, and scores the plan. The saturation check does a city-level version for free.
Questions people ask
How many child day care centers are there in Kentucky?
BLS counted 1,045 child day care centers with employees in Kentucky in 2026 Q1, employing 12,848 people. Owner-only businesses with no payroll are not in that count. That is 22.8 per 100,000 residents, against 23.4 nationally.
Are child day care centers growing in Kentucky?
Not at the moment. Jobs at child day care centers in Kentucky changed -0.9% over the year to 2026 Q1, and the number of locations changed +0.8%. That ranks Kentucky 28 of 50 states for job growth in this business type. Over five years the location count moved +4.4%.
Is Kentucky a crowded market for child day care centers?
Kentucky has 22.8 child day care centers per 100,000 residents, close to the national average, ranking 31 of 50 states. Density is a statewide average; a Neur report counts the competitors around one address.
Child day care centers in every state
Densest first. The number is child day care centers per 100,000 residents in 2026 Q1.
Other business types in Kentucky
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages, private sector, NAICS 624410, 2026 Q1 (quarterly) and annual averages (five-year series); U.S. Census Bureau, American Community Survey 1-year population estimates. This page is generated from those feeds and rewritten when a new quarter publishes. All 14 business types in Kentucky · Growth ranking for Kentucky · Child day care centers by state