Quality Kid Care: The Best of the Best Child Care Franchises Child care can be a rewarding and lucrative route to franchising.
By Jeff Cheatham •
Opinions expressed by Entrepreneur contributors are their own.
The U.S. child care market is in growth mode as demand continues to rise in this business sector, according to independent analysis by Grand View Research. The industry was valued at over $50 billion in 2019, and is predicted to experience a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 3.9% through the year 2027. As the study's authors point out, there's a widening gap between economic growth, parental employment and access to decent child care opportunities. Congressional leaders are mulling over affordable child care tax benefits, while many employers are looking to lead the way in establishing near-site child care facilities to meet the growing demand. However, the agility of franchising might beat them to it. There are dozens of child care franchises on the market today, focused on daycare, tutoring, afterschool activities, athletics, academies and schools. Entrepreneurs seeking a business model focused on children will quickly discover the countless advantages.
Related: Franchise Players: Why We Chose a Child Care Franchise
The evolution of child care businesses
Two decades ago, there were little to no franchises that focused squarely on children's needs. With the exception of daycare centers and a few Montessori school options, the market category itself only underwent rapid changes in recent years with the deployment of several new business models. Today, there are specialized opportunities that center on child care as the primary business driver, especially those that involve safety and supervision. Franchises who cater to the child care industry have evolved over time to become quite diverse, catering to a target audience of more than 70 million children in the U.S. with concepts like swim schools, tutoring, gymnastics and music schools.
Related: A Child Care Business Might Amplify Your Entrepreneurial Journey
A return to the office
As the pandemic continues to wane in the U.S., a majority of businesses are once again looking to utilize the vacant commercial real estate space they've been paying for all along. Some of America's largest employers, including tech giant Twitter, are calling employees back into the office, in a move some have dubbed, "The Great Return." Naturally, this begs the question of how workers will handle the need for childcare with the dissolution of remote work. It's estimated that a third of the U.S. workforce has a child under the age of 14, and office returns continues to garner momentum, the demand for child care services will rise significantly.
Related: A Child Care Business Might Amplify Your Entrepreneurial Journey
Help is on the way
Both the government and private sector are increasingly looking for ways to help parents with child care subsidies. The American Rescue Plan, signed into law in 2021, provided immediate — but temporary — payments to households. More than 160 million payments of up to $1,400 were utilized to lift five million children above the poverty line. Now, they're looking to make this initiative permanent, and expand to include free educational opportunities, direct support and extended tax cuts — all of which would put more discretionary income in the hands of parents seeking child care options. The private sector is looking for innovative solutions as well, planning onsite and near-site child care, remote work options and other benefits to alleviate child care concerns. If this trend continues, the child care industry will be well-positioned to take advantage of the opportunity.
The child care franchise industry is an attractive sector for entrepreneurs — especially those with an interest in working with and serving the needs of kids in their own communities. At least one concept, Kumon, landed a top-10 spot on the 2022 Entrepreneur Franchise 500, six total landed within the top-100, and 33 child care franchises in all earned a spot in the full list. A recap of these children's franchise opportunities can be found by following this link.
Related: Interested in a Children's Franchise? Here Are the Top 15
