Home / Child day care services / Arizona / Maricopa County, AZ

Maricopa County, AZ — Day care Saturation

Name: Day care density by ZIP code in Maricopa County, AZ
Creator: BizGapMap

How many day care exist per person present — residents plus daytime workers — by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Establishment data: Census ZBP 2023. Population: ACS 2024 5-year. 185 ZIP codes analyzed.

Includes: Child day care centers · Preschools & pre-K · Family home day care · After-school programs. Counted together because official statistics use one 624410 code.

Measured density: Well below average — 0.51× the U.S. rate (between 0.51× and 0.59× once withheld ZIP cells are counted)

Why a range: Census does not publish a ZIP-by-industry count when that ZIP has 0–2 businesses. 98 ZIP cells in this county are withheld, 45 of them with residents. Each could hold 0, 1, or 2 businesses: counting them all as 0 gives the low end, counting them all as 2 gives the high end — the data cannot say where the truth sits. The density range uses only the populated cells, since ZIPs without residents are excluded from per-person rates. How ranges work

Well below the U.S. rate Maricopa County day care — 51–59% of the U.S. rate

583 day care are counted in Maricopa County — 1.0 per 10,000 people present (residents + daytime workers), 51% of the U.S. rate of 2.0.

On the comparable ZIP set (ZIPs with a published count in every year), the total has risen 18% between 2015 and 2023 (425 → 503). That set is smaller than today's county total. 2020–2021 were pandemic-distorted, and Census rounds counts, so small moves are within noise.

Measured supply density is highest in 85378 (Surprise), 85297 (Gilbert), 85224 (Chandler) — well above the national rate. On measured density alone, the lowest-density residential ZIPs with a published count are 85281 (Tempe), 85043 (Phoenix), 85017 (Phoenix).

Census County Business Patterns (2023) puts the county-wide count at 623 establishments, including locations in ZIP codes that do not map to a ZCTA — so it can run slightly above the sum of the ZIP rows on this page. It is annual, so it lags more than QCEW.

Measured density: Maricopa County sits at 51% of the U.S. rate for day care. 45 ZIPs with population have no published count (each 0–2 businesses), so the true per-capita rate is between 51% and 59% of the U.S. rate. Why. The highest measured density is in 85378 and 85297; the lowest measured density is in 85281 and 85043.

This is a supply-side read: it counts existing day care and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more. Treat low density as a question to check, not an answer.

Day care

583–779

published count; upper bound counts each withheld ZIP cell as 2 (98 cells) (2023)

Per 10,000 present

1.0

residents + daytime workers

U.S. average

2.0

per 10,000 present

County index

0.51×

vs. U.S.

Latest year (CBP)

623

2023 — $310M annual payroll

Residents

4,583,743

132 ZIPs with data

Workers

1,999,220

jobs located in county

Is the area growing?

Population

4,673,096

Census PEP, July 1 2024

Change since 2020

+5.1%

+227,681 people

Net migration 2024

+43,827

international +45,693, domestic −1,866

Jobs located here

2,224,322

LODES 2022, +6.5% since 2019

Maricopa County had an estimated 4,673,096 residents on July 1, 2024 — 5.1% more than in 2020 (+227,681). In the latest year it gained 57,471 people: births minus deaths +13,548, international migration +45,693, domestic migration −1,866. Components are published separately and may not sum exactly.

2,224,322 jobs were located in the county in 2022 (+6.5% since 2019), and 2,029,026 employed residents lived there (+4.6% since 2019). LODES counts wage and salary jobs covered by unemployment insurance plus federal jobs; it excludes the self-employed and military, and counts jobs rather than unique people. 2019→2022 spans the pandemic, so read it as one change, not a trend.

Population and migration say whether the customer base is growing. They do not say whether people want another business of this type. Definitions and limits → · Full county detail →

ZIP gaining residents

2015–19 → 2020–24

Change

85387 Surprise

+113.5%

85396 Buckeye

+101.8%

85004 Phoenix

+73.2%

ZIP losing residents

2015–19 → 2020–24

Change

85256 Scottsdale

−43.2%

85006 Phoenix

−19.5%

85374 Surprise

−14.5%

ACS 5-year estimates for 2015–2019 and 2020–2024. Only ZIPs with at least 2,000 residents in both windows and a change larger than the survey margin of error (90%) are listed — small ZIPs move a lot on paper without a real signal.

Nonemployer businesses (no paid employees)

Nonemployer businesses

5,444

no paid employees (2024)

Receipts

$92.4M

published gross receipts

Receipts per business

$17K

gross, not profit

Census Nonemployer Statistics counts businesses with no paid employees — a separate universe from the employer establishments counted above; a business is in one or the other, never both. They are not storefronts by definition: many are home-based, mobile, or part-time.

We show them beside the density index, not inside it. In categories such as nail and beauty salons, child care, and pet care, one-person businesses can outnumber employer establishments, so the employer-only count understates how many businesses exist. That is not evidence of higher demand.

Receipts are gross revenue reported for these businesses — not profit, and not the size of the local market. Census publishes this only at county level, so it is not shown on the ZIP map. See methodology.

Saturation map

Each ZIP area is shaded by its density of this business type per person present (residents + workers) vs. the U.S. average. Click any ZIP to zoom to its boundary, see its numbers, and switch to aerial imagery. Individual mapped shops appear as dots at street level — Show locations zooms you in to them (scroll or double-click to zoom).

Basemap:

Under 50% 50–100% 100–150% 150–250% 250%+ 0–2 (not published) / no data ZIP total (dot size) Mapped shop (OpenStreetMap, street level)

Map data © OpenStreetMap contributors, tiles by OpenFreeMap.

White dots are ZIP totals from the official Census count — the bigger the dot, the more day care in that ZIP. They are aggregated, not individual shops. Turquoise dots are individual locations mapped in OpenStreetMap, shown only at street level; they are crowd-sourced and indicative, may be incomplete, and do not equal the official counts. Only the official ZIP totals feed the saturation index.

Market trend — up 18% since 2015

Number of day care in Maricopa County across 2015–2023, on a consistent set of ZIP codes present in every year — so changes are real, not ZIP-boundary artifacts. 2015/2018 are pre-pandemic baselines; 2020/2021 are COVID-distorted.

425

2015

449

2018

474

2020

467

2021

485

2022

503

2023

Highest measured density

ZIP

vs. U.S. average

Index

85378 Surprise

139%

85297 Gilbert

124%

85224 Chandler

123%

85381 Peoria

122%

85048 Phoenix

119%

85210 Mesa

109%

85203 Mesa

107%

85015 Phoenix

106%

85302 Glendale

102%

85254 Scottsdale

101%

85204 Mesa

100%

85234 Gilbert

100%

85053 Phoenix

100%

85331 Cave Creek

98%

85022 Phoenix

94%

Lowest measured density

ZIP

vs. U.S. average

Index

85281 Tempe

20%

85043 Phoenix

21%

85017 Phoenix

24%

85033 Phoenix

24%

85339 Laveen

25%

85016 Phoenix

30%

85206 Mesa

30%

85212 Mesa

31%

85255 Scottsdale

32%

85353 Tolleson

33%

85392 Avondale

35%

85009 Phoenix

36%

85338 Goodyear

36%

85379 Surprise

36%

85207 Mesa

37%

Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A ZIP with few day care may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. We rank only residential and mixed ZIPs here; employment hubs and visitor destinations are listed separately below. ZIPs where Census did not publish a count (0–2 businesses) are not ranked: they may be the least served of all, but the data cannot tell 0 from 1 or 2. Verify those locally.

Employment hubs & destinations

These ZIPs have far more workers (or visitors) than residents, so their counts are driven by daytime and visitor demand — not a place to read "shortage" from resident numbers alone.

ZIP	Neighborhood	Type	Residents	Workers	Day care	Index
85004	Phoenix	Employment hub	12,408	34,220	7	117%
85012	Phoenix	Employment hub	8,704	36,543	5	91%
85284	Tempe	Employment hub	19,492	46,184	5	58%
85034	Phoenix	Destination	4,854	63,321	0–2	—
85054	Phoenix	Employment hub	10,346	23,688	0–2	—
85256	Scottsdale	Employment hub	3,504	10,670	0–2	—

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

All ZIP codes

Click a column header to sort. Index = day care per 10,000 people present (residents + 0.5×workers) ÷ the U.S. average. 100% = exactly average.

ZIP	Neighborhood	Residents	Workers	Day care	Per 10k	Index	Status
85378	Surprise	9,765	1,700	3	2.8	139%	Above average
85297	Gilbert	37,475	12,659	11	2.5	124%	Above average
85224	Chandler	47,963	32,270	16	2.5	123%	Above average
85381	Peoria	27,650	9,520	8	2.5	122%	Above average
85048	Phoenix	34,664	5,417	9	2.4	119%	Above average
85004	Phoenix	12,408	34,220	7	2.4	117%	Above average
85210	Mesa	39,015	21,638	11	2.2	109%	Above average
85203	Mesa	38,035	7,037	9	2.2	107%	Above average
85015	Phoenix	41,490	9,699	10	2.2	106%	Above average
85302	Glendale	40,612	5,768	9	2.1	102%	Above average
85254	Scottsdale	45,558	26,434	12	2.0	101%	Above average
85204	Mesa	65,155	16,824	15	2.0	100%	Above average
85234	Gilbert	51,283	15,149	12	2.0	100%	Above average
85053	Phoenix	29,773	9,403	7	2.0	100%	Above average
85331	Cave Creek	31,968	6,723	7	2.0	98%	Below average
85022	Phoenix	53,811	7,717	11	1.9	94%	Below average
85374	Surprise	41,420	13,597	9	1.9	92%	Below average
85012	Phoenix	8,704	36,543	5	1.9	91%	Below average
85260	Scottsdale	39,896	54,537	12	1.8	88%	Below average
85028	Phoenix	18,752	8,349	4	1.7	86%	Below average
85037	Phoenix	54,608	8,965	10	1.7	83%	Below average
85286	Chandler	50,621	30,358	11	1.7	82%	Below average
85018	Phoenix	37,297	21,900	8	1.7	82%	Below average
85024	Phoenix	26,199	8,939	5	1.6	80%	Below average
85032	Phoenix	70,839	18,582	13	1.6	80%	Below average
85308	Glendale	65,095	23,481	12	1.6	77%	Below average
85382	Peoria	43,729	16,958	8	1.5	76%	Below average
85205	Mesa	45,116	14,316	8	1.5	75%	Below average
85268	Fountain Hills	23,849	4,952	4	1.5	75%	Below average
85014	Phoenix	25,911	14,079	5	1.5	75%	Below average
85202	Mesa	38,750	16,729	7	1.5	73%	Below average
85085	Phoenix	31,458	18,208	6	1.5	73%	Below average
85044	Phoenix	39,347	17,205	7	1.5	72%	Below average
85051	Phoenix	45,768	7,612	7	1.4	70%	Below average
85295	Gilbert	56,744	14,016	9	1.4	70%	Below average
85013	Phoenix	22,490	12,620	4	1.4	68%	Below average
85310	Glendale	19,964	3,308	3	1.4	68%	Below average
85249	Chandler	48,746	6,387	7	1.3	66%	Below average
85201	Mesa	51,400	16,452	8	1.3	66%	Below average
85282	Tempe	53,624	45,325	10	1.3	65%	Below average
85298	Gilbert	44,114	3,645	6	1.3	64%	Below average
85142	Queen Creek	93,700	15,299	13	1.3	63%	Below average
85253	Paradise Valley	17,904	11,400	3	1.3	63%	Below average
85259	Scottsdale	21,670	3,897	3	1.3	63%	Below average
85305	Glendale	18,043	11,244	3	1.3	62%	Below average
85395	Goodyear	40,414	14,896	6	1.3	62%	Below average
85209	Mesa	43,150	11,648	6	1.2	60%	Below average
85258	Scottsdale	25,545	32,832	5	1.2	59%	Below average
85283	Tempe	47,459	22,683	7	1.2	59%	Below average
85345	Peoria	60,918	12,700	8	1.2	59%	Below average
85041	Phoenix	63,862	6,826	8	1.2	59%	Below average
85301	Glendale	68,178	16,191	9	1.2	58%	Below average
85233	Gilbert	39,077	23,842	6	1.2	58%	Below average
85284	Tempe	19,492	46,184	5	1.2	58%	Below average
85020	Phoenix	34,916	18,360	5	1.1	56%	Below average
85008	Phoenix	59,716	25,936	8	1.1	54%	Below average
85257	Scottsdale	29,812	13,226	4	1.1	54%	Below average
85251	Scottsdale	40,780	46,575	7	1.1	54%	Below average
85226	Chandler	42,294	46,668	7	1.1	53%	Below average
85248	Chandler	37,095	20,548	5	1.1	52%	Below average
85027	Phoenix	39,487	55,679	7	1.0	51%	Below average
85050	Phoenix	33,118	11,007	4	1.0	51%	Below average
85042	Phoenix	45,903	6,861	5	1.0	50%	Far below average
85040	Phoenix	34,117	54,447	6	1.0	48%	Far below average
85296	Gilbert	53,076	16,591	6	1.0	48%	Far below average
85029	Phoenix	49,683	24,853	6	1.0	48%	Far below average
85225	Chandler	72,297	23,210	8	1.0	47%	Far below average
85031	Phoenix	31,191	6,897	3	0.9	43%	Far below average
85086	Phoenix	43,270	7,357	4	0.9	42%	Far below average
85335	El Mirage	36,088	3,265	3	0.8	39%	Far below average
85323	Avondale	47,043	10,379	4	0.8	38%	Far below average
85383	Peoria	74,390	10,358	6	0.8	37%	Far below average
85207	Mesa	51,178	5,005	4	0.7	37%	Far below average
85379	Surprise	51,035	6,488	4	0.7	36%	Far below average
85338	Goodyear	67,451	27,994	6	0.7	36%	Far below average
85009	Phoenix	52,064	32,551	5	0.7	36%	Far below average
85392	Avondale	39,079	7,264	3	0.7	35%	Far below average
85353	Tolleson	49,120	21,345	4	0.7	33%	Far below average
85255	Scottsdale	45,346	32,815	4	0.6	32%	Far below average
85212	Mesa	55,283	15,527	4	0.6	31%	Far below average
85206	Mesa	37,235	23,612	3	0.6	30%	Far below average
85016	Phoenix	37,074	57,139	4	0.6	30%	Far below average
85339	Laveen	54,641	7,014	3	0.5	25%	Far below average
85033	Phoenix	57,591	6,089	3	0.5	24%	Far below average
85017	Phoenix	46,129	30,055	3	0.5	24%	Far below average
85043	Phoenix	41,331	58,925	3	0.4	21%	Far below average
85281	Tempe	72,762	95,380	5	0.4	20%	Far below average
85001	Phoenix	—	2,247	0–2	—	—	Not published
85002	Phoenix	—	227	0–2	—	—	Not published
85003	Phoenix	10,875	8,327	0–2	—	—	Not published
85005	Phoenix	—	776	0–2	—	—	Not published
85006	Phoenix	21,905	11,784	0–2	—	—	Not published
85007	Phoenix	13,575	7,980	0–2	—	—	Not published
85010	Phoenix	—	88	0–2	—	—	Not published
85011	Phoenix	—	40	0–2	—	—	Not published
85019	Phoenix	27,429	4,365	0–2	—	—	Not published
85021	Phoenix	39,828	19,533	0–2	—	—	Not published
85023	Phoenix	35,034	12,364	0–2	—	—	Not published
85026	Phoenix	0	382	0–2	—	—	Not published
85030	Phoenix	—	17	0–2	—	—	Not published
85034	Phoenix	4,854	63,321	0–2	—	—	Not published
85035	Phoenix	53,424	5,013	0–2	—	—	Not published
85036	Phoenix	—	703	0–2	—	—	Not published
85038	Phoenix	—	53	0–2	—	—	Not published
85045	Phoenix	7,600	182	0–2	—	—	Not published
85046	Phoenix	—	134	0–2	—	—	Not published
85054	Phoenix	10,346	23,688	0–2	—	—	Not published
85060	Phoenix	—	29	0–2	—	—	Not published
85063	Phoenix	—	12	0–2	—	—	Not published
85064	Phoenix	—	87	0–2	—	—	Not published
85066	Phoenix	—	12	0–2	—	—	Not published
85067	Phoenix	—	17	0–2	—	—	Not published
85068	Phoenix	—	34	0–2	—	—	Not published
85069	Phoenix	—	13	0–2	—	—	Not published
85070	Phoenix	—	22	0–2	—	—	Not published
85071	Phoenix	—	14	0–2	—	—	Not published
85072	Phoenix	—	110	0–2	—	—	Not published
85075	Phoenix	—	152	0–2	—	—	Not published
85076	Phoenix	—	254	0–2	—	—	Not published
85079	Phoenix	—	9	0–2	—	—	Not published
85080	Phoenix	—	765	0–2	—	—	Not published
85082	Phoenix	—	188	0–2	—	—	Not published
85083	Phoenix	21,022	3,166	0–2	—	—	Not published
85087	New River	10,157	843	0–2	—	—	Not published
85208	Mesa	37,225	2,914	0–2	—	—	Not published
85211	Mesa	—	209	0–2	—	—	Not published
85213	Mesa	36,836	5,904	0–2	—	—	Not published
85214	Mesa	—	113	0–2	—	—	Not published
85215	Mesa	16,888	12,413	0–2	—	—	Not published
85216	Mesa	—	69	0–2	—	—	Not published
85236	Higley	0	901	0–2	—	—	Not published
85244	Chandler	—	246	0–2	—	—	Not published
85246	Chandler	—	191	0–2	—	—	Not published
85250	Scottsdale	15,394	12,601	0–2	—	—	Not published
85252	Scottsdale	—	393	0–2	—	—	Not published
85256	Scottsdale	3,504	10,670	0–2	—	—	Not published
85261	Scottsdale	—	60	0–2	—	—	Not published
85262	Scottsdale	14,329	3,785	0–2	—	—	Not published
85263	Rio Verde	3,472	326	0–2	—	—	Not published
85264	Fort Mcdowell	1,261	970	0–2	—	—	Not published
85266	Scottsdale	12,516	2,243	0–2	—	—	Not published
85267	Scottsdale	—	41	0–2	—	—	Not published
85269	Fountain Hills	—	23	0–2	—	—	Not published
85271	Scottsdale	—	19	0–2	—	—	Not published
85274	Mesa	—	89	0–2	—	—	Not published
85275	Mesa	—	29	0–2	—	—	Not published
85277	Mesa	—	121	0–2	—	—	Not published
85280	Tempe	—	254	0–2	—	—	Not published
85285	Tempe	—	1,652	0–2	—	—	Not published
85287	Tempe	—	675	0–2	—	—	Not published
85288	Tempe	—	5,949	0–2	—	—	Not published
85299	Gilbert	—	128	0–2	—	—	Not published
85303	Glendale	33,663	3,794	0–2	—	—	Not published
85304	Glendale	29,861	2,366	0–2	—	—	Not published
85306	Glendale	24,911	9,327	0–2	—	—	Not published
85307	Glendale	14,223	4,234	0–2	—	—	Not published
85309	Luke Air Force Base	960	708	0–2	—	—	Not published
85311	Glendale	—	58	0–2	—	—	Not published
85312	Glendale	—	63	0–2	—	—	Not published
85318	Glendale	—	136	0–2	—	—	Not published
85320	Aguila	458	17	0–2	—	—	Not published
85322	Arlington	476	187	0–2	—	—	Not published
85326	Buckeye	75,359	9,519	0–2	—	—	Not published
85327	Cave Creek	—	89	0–2	—	—	Not published
85329	Cashion	2,252	144	0–2	—	—	Not published
85337	Gila Bend	2,041	712	0–2	—	—	Not published
85340	Litchfield Park	40,919	6,613	0–2	—	—	Not published
85342	Morristown	1,823	213	0–2	—	—	Not published
85351	Sun City	27,592	6,313	0–2	—	—	Not published
85354	Tonopah	8,531	2,543	0–2	—	—	Not published
85355	Waddell	14,460	1,453	0–2	—	—	Not published
85358	Wickenburg	—	176	0–2	—	—	Not published
85361	Wittmann	7,991	376	0–2	—	—	Not published
85363	Youngtown	7,015	1,004	0–2	—	—	Not published
85372	Sun City	—	169	0–2	—	—	Not published
85373	Sun City	20,254	1,256	0–2	—	—	Not published
85375	Sun City West	27,680	5,497	0–2	—	—	Not published
85376	Sun City West	—	14	0–2	—	—	Not published
85377	Carefree	3,437	1,892	0–2	—	—	Not published
85380	Peoria	—	5	0–2	—	—	Not published
85385	Peoria	—	14	0–2	—	—	Not published
85387	Surprise	22,442	913	0–2	—	—	Not published
85388	Surprise	35,369	3,993	0–2	—	—	Not published
85390	Wickenburg	10,298	3,342	0–2	—	—	Not published
85396	Buckeye	42,181	2,109	0–2	—	—	Not published

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Find an actual space in Tempe

The numbers above tell you how the market looks. To find a specific storefront, these marketplaces list available retail space for lease.

LoopNet

Largest commercial marketplace

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CityFeet

Retail space for lease

Browse Tempe retail space →

Open vacancy data (actual empty units) is only published by some cities; where it exists we show it directly. Listings above are third-party.

Census withholds some ZIP-by-industry cells to protect small businesses. 0–2 means the cell was not published (Census publishes industry counts only at 3+ per ZIP), so the ZIP is left unranked rather than counted as zero. ~ means the count is estimated from the broader industry group and can be off by a business or two.

Follow Maricopa County and day care

When a data vintage changes or a section of this report is revised, we post it to a public update feed. No email address, no account, no tracking — and nothing is sent unless something actually changed.

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Methodology & sources

Establishments. U.S. Census ZIP Code Business Patterns (ZBP 2023), NAICS 624410 — child day care services. Counts establishments with paid employees. ZBP is published annually with a ~2-year lag.

Fresh county signal. This industry has no clean QCEW series, so the freshest county signal is Census County Business Patterns 2023: 623 establishments and $310M in annual payroll county-wide. This count includes locations in ZIP codes that do not map to a ZCTA, so it can be slightly higher than the sum of the ZIP rows. CBP is annual and slower than QCEW. It cannot be broken down by ZIP.

Population. U.S. Census American Community Survey 2024 5-year ZCTA population (table B01003). Workers are the ZIP's total employment from the same 2023 ZBP file.

Demand ("people present"). Demand comes from residents and daytime workers: residents + 0.5 × workers. This is the single documented assumption in the model and can be tuned.

Index. index = (ZIP establishments ÷ ZIP demand × 10,000) ÷ the U.S. average for this industry (2.03 per 10,000 present). It is a supply-side density measure; it does not capture income, rent, tourism, or whether locals actually want more.

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BizGapMap — free, no-login small-business saturation reports for major U.S. counties. Built entirely from public U.S. Census, BLS, and IRS data (ZBP 2023, ACS 2024 5-year, PEP 2024, LODES, QCEW, IRS SOI). No forecasts, no revenue guesses — withheld cells are marked, and the few derived counts are labelled as estimates.