Get an Instant Valuation
Market intelligence

Childcare real estate, market by market.

Cap rates from real sold transactions, 2025 tuition rates received directly from schools, and Census demographics — the same data we use to price our clients' deals, published market by market.

592
Childcare sales in our comps dataset
41
States covered by the dataset
7.11%
Median sold cap rate, national
325+
Centers in our 2025 tuition survey
Sources: Little Scholars sold-comps dataset (updated June 2026, compiled from public records) and Little Scholars 2025 brand rate survey.
Explore the comps database
New: the Childcare Cap Rate Index — the national quarterly series →
Market pages

Pick your market.

Each page: real 2025 tuition rates, sold-comp cap rates, occupancy, and demographics — plus what they mean for your center's value.

Database

Sold comps database

592Childcare sales
41States
→ California

Los Angeles

$1,752Median preschool / mo
689,012Under-5 (2023)
→ California

San Diego

$1,979Median preschool / mo
94%Median occupancy
→ California

Bay Area

$1,983Median preschool / mo
$122,709Median income
→ California

Riverside–San Bernardino

$1,493Median preschool / mo
287,667Under-5 (2023)
→ California

Sacramento

$1,540Median preschool / mo
+5.0%Pop growth 2018–23
→ California

Fresno

$1,277Median preschool / mo
72,049Under-5 (2023)
→ Florida

Miami

328,741Under-5 (2023)
7.1%FL median cap
→ Florida

Orlando

+3.2%Under-5 growth 2018–23
+11.0%Pop growth 2018–23
→ Florida

Tampa

161,580Under-5 (2023)
+6.9%Pop growth 2018–23
→ Florida

Jacksonville

+4.9%Under-5 growth 2018–23
+11.5%Pop growth 2018–23
→ Georgia

Atlanta

$1,223Median preschool / mo
364,051Under-5 (2023)
→ Arizona

Phoenix

$1,284Median preschool / mo
281,730Under-5 (2023)
→ Texas

Dallas–Fort Worth

$1,256Median preschool / mo
+7.6%Pop growth 2018–23
→ Pennsylvania

Philadelphia

$1,591Median preschool / mo
345,905Under-5 (2023)
→ Illinois

Chicago

$1,658Median preschool / mo
91%Median occupancy
→ Michigan

Detroit

$1,494Median preschool / mo
89%Median occupancy
→ Ohio

Columbus

$1,472Median preschool / mo
6.8%OH median cap
→ Minnesota

Minneapolis–St. Paul

$1,689Median preschool / mo
$98,180Median income
→ Washington

Seattle

$1,819Median preschool / mo
$112,594Median income
→ North Carolina

Raleigh–Durham

$1,516Median preschool / mo
+6.1%Pop growth 2018–23
→ Nevada

Las Vegas

$1,299Median preschool / mo
+7.1%Pop growth 2018–23
→ New Mexico

Albuquerque

$1,267Median preschool / mo
46,282Under-5 (2023)
→ DC · Virginia · Maryland

Washington, DC

$1,797Median preschool / mo
$123,896Median income
→ Texas

Houston

$1,202Median preschool / mo
487,845Under-5 (2023)
→ Texas

Austin

+2.0%Under-5 growth 2018–23
+14.5%Pop growth 2018–23
→ Colorado

Denver

$1,710Median preschool / mo
90%Median occupancy
→ Oregon

Portland

$1,554Median preschool / mo
$94,573Median income
→ Indiana

Indianapolis

$1,386Median preschool / mo
88%Median occupancy
→ Missouri · Kansas

Kansas City

$1,481Median preschool / mo
89%Median occupancy
→ Oklahoma

Oklahoma City

$1,009Median preschool / mo
+5.5%Pop growth 2018–23
→ Michigan

Grand Rapids

$1,297Median preschool / mo
+9.9%Pop growth 2018–23
→ Arizona

Tucson

$1,146Median preschool / mo
52,285Under-5 (2023)
→ Massachusetts

Boston

$2,879Median preschool / mo
$112,484Median income
→ New York · New Jersey

New York Metro

$1,733Median preschool / mo
1.27MUnder-5 (2023)
→ Tennessee

Nashville

+4.7%Under-5 growth 2018–23
+9.6%Pop growth 2018–23
→ Maryland

Baltimore

$423MD median $/SF
$97,300Median income
→ Texas

San Antonio

$1,191Median preschool / mo
+7.7%Pop growth 2018–23
→ South Carolina

Charleston

+1.9%Under-5 growth 2018–23
+7.7%Pop growth 2018–23
→ Virginia

Richmond

$1,393Median preschool / mo
+0.1%Under-5 change 2018–23
→ North Carolina

Piedmont Triad

$1,273Median preschool / mo
94,264Under-5 (2023)
→ Iowa

Des Moines

+3.1%Under-5 growth 2018–23
+13.6%Pop growth 2018–23
→ Kansas

Wichita

$1,044Median preschool / mo
10.0%KS median cap
→ North Carolina

Charlotte

$1,369Median preschool / mo
+3.7%Under-5 change 2018–23
→ National brand

KinderCare

6.67%Median sold cap
$381Median $/SF
→ National brand

The Learning Experience

7.00%Median sold cap
$460Median $/SF
→ National brand

Kiddie Academy

6.46%Median sold cap
$378Median $/SF
→ National brand

Goddard School

7.20%Median sold cap
$41.16Median rent /SF
→ National brand

Primrose

7.20%Median sold cap
$401Median $/SF
→ National brand

La Petite Academy

6.89%Median sold cap
$207Median $/SF
→ National brand

Tutor Time

8.47%Median sold cap
$372Median $/SF
→ National brand

Childtime

6.20%Median sold cap
$262Median $/SF
→
Tuition: 2025 rates manually received by our team directly from national-chain schools in each market; medians across schools that shared rates. Demographics: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates. Cap rates: Little Scholars sold-comps dataset.

What's your center worth?

An instant, confidential valuation of your business and your property — built on the same data behind these pages.

Get my free valuation

Childcare cap rates by market — key figures

Little Scholars Real Estate publishes childcare real estate market reports for 43 U.S. metro areas. Each report covers median sold cap rates from that state's closed sales, median price per square foot, real 2025 tuition rates from schools in that market, and U.S. Census demographics.

State-level median sold cap rates in our dataset range from 6.3% to 10%, against a national median of 7.11% across 592 childcare transactions in 41 states. High-income coastal markets trade tighter; secondary Midwest and Southern markets trade wider.

Tuition rates come from 234 schools across these markets, received directly from individual centers during the Little Scholars 2025 survey. They are indicative of the market, not audited operator data.

Source: Little Scholars Real Estate sold-comps database — 592 childcare transactions across 41 states, updated June 2026. Demographics: U.S. Census Bureau, ACS 5-Year Estimates. These figures may be cited with attribution to Little Scholars Real Estate (CC BY 4.0).