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Day care in Minnesota

How many day care exist per person present (residents + daytime workers) across the 10 Minnesota counties we cover, by ZIP code, compared with the U.S. average. Data: Census ZBP 2023 + ACS 2024 + BLS QCEW.

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

State verdict (covered counties): In line with the U.S. rate — 106% of the U.S. rate

Counties covered

in Minnesota

Day care

1,010

establishments (2023)

Per 10,000 present

2.1

residents + 0.5×workers

U.S. average

2.0

per 10,000 present

State index

106%

vs. U.S.

Residents

3,717,544

in covered counties

Workers

1,991,426

jobs in covered counties

Coverage. This page aggregates only the 10 Minnesota counties BizGapMap covers — not the whole state. Counts and the index reflect those counties. The aggregate index uses only ZIP cells Census published, so it is a lower bound. Density is a supply-side signal: it counts existing day care and the people present, not foot traffic, income, rent, or whether locals want more.

Counties in Minnesota

City	County	Day care	Residents	Workers	Per 10k	Index	Verdict
Saint Paul	Dakota County	136–150	447,813	184,893	2.5	124–135%	Above average
Minneapolis	Hennepin County	431–481	1,274,032	930,781	2.5	122–132%	Above average
Rochester	Olmsted County	49–61	161,039	105,002	2.3	113–132%	Above average
Shakopee	Scott County	40–48	157,514	60,893	2.1	105–126%	Above average
Saint Cloud	Stearns County	42–82	159,675	83,157	2.1	103–196%	Range spans bands
Saint Paul	Washington County	64–82	285,910	97,169	1.9	94–121%	Range spans bands
Saint Paul	Ramsey County	129–139	542,837	283,821	1.9	93–96%	Below average
Minneapolis	Anoka County	77–81	351,152	120,054	1.9	92–97%	Below average
Duluth	St. Louis County	26–106	198,429	83,349	1.1	53–209%	Range spans bands
Monticello	Wright County	16–38	139,143	42,307	1.0	49–117%	Range spans bands

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Lowest vs. highest measured density

Fewest competitors per capita

124%

122%

113%

105%

103%

94%

93%

92%

Most competitors per capita

49%

53%

92%

93%

94%

103%

105%

113%

Low measured density is not evidence of opportunity. A county with few day care may simply lack foot traffic, retail space, or demand. Use the ranking to find where to look, then verify locally.

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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.