City Survivability Rankings for Day Care Center

StreetSpring's 2026 analysis ranks the top cities for Day Care Centers across the US by Survivability Scores. See which cities offer the best chances for a Day Care Center to succeed.

•17 min read

Quick Summary

  • Survivability Score: the projected chance a business type lasts two or more years at a specific address
  • The highest-ranked city for Day Care Center is Charlotte: 85.1% at a good address, 77.0% at a typical address
  • Dallas is left out of this ranking while a gap in its input data is repaired, and San Antonio is left out because it has too few scored locations to rank fairly
  • 8 of 22 analyzed US metros average above 70% for Day Care Center survivability at a typical address
  • The lowest-ranked city is New York City at 69.3%
  • National average chance of lasting two or more years for Day Care Center: 68.8%
  • Data reflects 2026 StreetSpring survivability analysis across 22 US metro areas · Full methodology →

Table of Contents

Summary

According to StreetSpring's 2026 nationwide analysis, Charlotte ranks as the #1 city for opening a Day Care Center in the United States, with an 85.1% chance of lasting two or more years at a good address. Following close behind are Denver with 85.1%, and Atlanta with 85.1%. Day Care Centers consistently deliver a 68.8% survivability average across our 22 analyzed metros, with top-ranked Charlotte demonstrating the strongest conditions. Still, specific site selection matters: some of the best-performing blocks can be found in cities that might not look ideal on average. Survivability rankings evolve as neighborhoods change; always verify with the most recent StreetSpring dataset before signing a lease.

Survivability ranges reflect best and worst storefront conditions within each city. See our full methodology →

Day Care Centers city survivability range chart: Charlotte vs New York City (2026)

Best-to-worst Day Care Center survivability within individual metros: Charlotte, Denver, San Diego, Chicago and New York City. Each box spans the middle of that metro's range; whiskers are its best and worst locations (2026).

All 22 Cities Ranked for Day Care Centers

Based on StreetSpring's analysis of 22 major metropolitan areas, these cities offer the strongest prospects for Day Care Centers:

#MetroMetro areaChance of lasting two or more years at a good address
1CharlotteCharlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC85.1%
2DenverDenver-Aurora-Centennial, CO85.1%
3AtlantaAtlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA85.1%
4OrlandoOrlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL84.7%
5HoustonHouston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX84.7%
6SeattleSeattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA84.2%
7St. LouisSt. Louis, MO-IL83.8%
8MinneapolisMinneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI83.3%
9Washington DCWashington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV82.4%
10BaltimoreBaltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD82.0%
11PhiladelphiaPhiladelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD82.0%
12San DiegoSan Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA82.0%
13PhoenixPhoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ82.0%
14DetroitDetroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI81.5%
15PortlandPortland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA80.6%
16Tampa BayTampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL80.2%
17MiamiMiami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL79.2%
18San FranciscoSan Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA78.3%
19Los AngelesLos Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA77.9%
20BostonBoston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH77.9%
21ChicagoChicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN77.5%
22New York CityNew York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ69.3%

1. Charlotte Metro: Charlotte-Concord-Gastonia, NC-SC

  • At a good address: 85.1%
  • At a typical address: 77.0%
  • Best scored location: 86.0%
  • Weakest scored location: 50.4%

2. Denver Metro: Denver-Aurora-Centennial, CO

3. Atlanta Metro: Atlanta-Sandy Springs-Roswell, GA

  • At a good address: 85.1%
  • At a typical address: 75.5%
  • Best scored location: 86.0%
  • Weakest scored location: 50.0%

4. Orlando Metro: Orlando-Kissimmee-Sanford, FL

5. Houston Metro: Houston-Pasadena-The Woodlands, TX

6. Seattle Metro: Seattle-Tacoma-Bellevue, WA

7. St. Louis Metro: St. Louis, MO-IL

8. Minneapolis Metro: Minneapolis-St. Paul-Bloomington, MN-WI

9. Washington DC Metro: Washington-Arlington-Alexandria, DC-VA-MD-WV

10. Baltimore Metro: Baltimore-Columbia-Towson, MD

  • At a good address: 82.0%
  • At a typical address: 68.9%
  • Best scored location: 86.0%
  • Weakest scored location: 50.0%

11. Philadelphia Metro: Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD

12. San Diego Metro: San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad, CA

13. Phoenix Metro: Phoenix-Mesa-Chandler, AZ

14. Detroit Metro: Detroit-Warren-Dearborn, MI

15. Portland Metro: Portland-Vancouver-Hillsboro, OR-WA

16. Tampa Bay Metro: Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater, FL

17. Miami Metro: Miami-Fort Lauderdale-West Palm Beach, FL

18. San Francisco Metro: San Francisco-Oakland-Fremont, CA

19. Los Angeles Metro: Los Angeles-Long Beach-Anaheim, CA

20. Boston Metro: Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA-NH

21. Chicago Metro: Chicago-Naperville-Elgin, IL-IN

22. New York City Metro: New York-Newark-Jersey City, NY-NJ

Key Insights

Wide variation between cities: The difference between the #1 city (Charlotte at 85.1%) and the #22 city (New York City at 69.3%) is 15.80 percentage points. Metro rankings for Day Care Centers are tightly packed, under a point between first and second. Use them to shortlist, then compare addresses.

Challenging markets: 1 city falls below 60% survivability, suggesting more difficult market conditions.

National average: Across all 22 analyzed cities, the average survivability for a Day Care Center is 68.8%.

What Makes These Cities Stand Out?

The top-ranked cities share several characteristics that favor Day Care Centers:

  • Strong survivability signals: Charlotte leads with a 77% average chance of lasting two or more years for Day Care Centers: significantly above the national average for this business category.
  • Competition density: The top cities show favorable competitor-to-opportunity ratios for Day Care Centers, meaning lower saturation and higher odds of capturing an underserved customer base.
  • Geographic distribution: The top cities span multiple U.S. regions, giving franchise operators or multi-location owners diverse market options without concentrating risk.
  • Consumer demand signals: StreetSpring's data captures competitor review velocity, spending patterns, and demographic fit, all pointing toward sustained demand for Day Care Centers in these markets.

Across the U.S., real estate professionals and business owners rely on StreetSpring's AI predictions to understand where a new venture is most likely to thrive, before signing a lease. Our models draw from one of the most comprehensive commercial real estate datasets ever assembled. StreetSpring uses custom-built, proprietary algorithms to produce these predictions.

City-specific guides: For detailed neighborhood-level analysis, explore our city guides:

National guides:

How current is this ranking?

Rankings are updated quarterly. The current data reflects StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, with the next full dataset refresh scheduled for Q3 2026. As market conditions shift across major metros, individual city scores can move meaningfully between updates: particularly for Day Care Centers, where local competition density and consumer spending patterns respond quickly to new entrants and neighborhood change. For the most current score at any specific address, use StreetSpring's live survivability tool rather than the static ranking above.

Can a Day Care Center succeed in cities not ranked in the top 10?

Yes, our top 10 ranking reflects cities with the strongest average conditions, but lower-ranked metros can still contain exceptional individual neighborhoods. Many operators successfully open Day Care Centers in cities that don't appear in our top 10. Day Care Centers in particular can find strong performance in secondary markets where the right demographic concentration, household income, and limited direct competition within walking distance align, even outside our highest-ranked cities. StreetSpring's neighborhood-level data surfaces these pockets of opportunity in every city we analyze, regardless of where the city as a whole ranks nationally.

What tools can help me choose the right city for a Day Care Center?

StreetSpring's Survivability Score tool provides address-level predictions for Day Care Centers across all 22 metros we track. For this category specifically, the model reads competition density, the consumer spending index for Day Care Centers, and Census neighborhood characteristics such as the housing vacancy rate, and turns them into the projected chance that a Day Care Center lasts two or more years at a given address. You can check any specific address before signing a lease and compare multiple neighborhoods side by side to identify the highest-survivability site within your target city.

Try the Survivability Score tool →

Which US city has the best survivability for Day Care Centers?

Charlotte ranks as the #1 city in the US for Day Care Centers survivability in StreetSpring's 2026 analysis, with an average 77% chance of lasting two or more years. This means that across well-selected neighborhoods in Charlotte, a Day Care Center has approximately a 77% chance of still operating after two years, above the national average for this category. Denver ranks second, followed by Atlanta. The full ranking reflects data across 22 major US metro areas: see the complete list above for all scores and neighborhood-level links.

Last reviewed: October 2026 by Robert Koons, Founder & CEO, StreetSpring

Technical note: Aggregated national survivability rankings across all 24 metros are available in machine-readable format for research and integration purposes.

View national technical data

StreetSpring recalculates survivability using the latest competitive, demographic, and walkability data, so the live score may differ from the static ranges shown here.

Methodology: Each metro's figures pool the scored locations in its published neighborhoods. Metros are ranked the way the national data file ranks them, on the chance of lasting two or more years at a good address; the typical-address figure is shown alongside. Coverage includes 22 major US metropolitan areas: Charlotte, Denver, Atlanta, Orlando, Houston, Seattle, St. Louis, Minneapolis, Washington DC, Baltimore, Philadelphia, San Diego, Phoenix, Detroit, Portland, Tampa Bay, Miami, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Boston, Chicago, New York City. StreetSpring scores 500+ business types: 153 base business types, most of them at 5 price points, which is 569 type-and-price combinations you can choose in the tool.