NAICS 624410

Child Day Care Services in Sacramento, CA

The 23 ZIP codes assigned to Sacramento contained 154 Childcare establishments in 2023, of which 7 employed 10 or more people.

Establishments (2023)
154
23 ZIP codes
10 or more employees
7
Practical financing floor
Share of county
46%
Sacramento County
City population
536,449
2025 estimate

Figures cover the ZIP codes the U.S. Postal Service assigns to Sacramento (95811, 95814, 95815, 95816, 95817, 95818, 95819, 95820, 95821, 95822, 95823, 95825, and more). ZIP areas are not municipal boundaries: they can extend beyond city limits and are shared between neighbouring places. This is a count of establishments in Sacramento's ZIP codes, not a count of businesses inside its city limits.

Establishments by size

Employee-count distribution. For most buyers the businesses worth pursuing sit in the 5 to 49 range: large enough to have a manager and real systems, small enough to be owner-operated.

EmployeesEstablishmentsShareDistribution
1-45636.4%
5-91811.7%
10-1942.6%
20-4931.9%

How this market compares

Sacramento against every other city in California on the same measure. City figures cover the ZIP codes assigned to the place rather than its municipal boundary, so they are compared as a share of the businesses in those same ZIP codes rather than per resident. Cities with fewer than 500 businesses in total are left unranked.

Typical0.78% of local businesses, against 0.90% statewide

About the same slice of the local business base as the industry holds statewide.

Vs state share
-13%
Share of local businesses
Rank by count
#6
of 354 cities
Rank by share
#172
of 288 ranked
Since 2020
-4%
Change in establishments

This compares how much of Sacramento’s business base is child day care services, against the California figure. Base: 19,687 establishments across all industries in the same ZIP codes, 2023. It does not measure revenue, profitability or whether a market is worth entering.

Business size mix

Sacramento is more consolidated than California as a whole: fewer micro-operators and a larger share of businesses with real headcount. Fewer targets, but the ones that exist are more likely to be financeable.

Share of establishmentsSacramentoCaliforniaDifference
Under 5 employeesOwner-operated, often no management layer36.4%49.9%-13.6%
5 to 49 employeesThe range most individual buyers target16.2%25.9%-9.6%
10 or more employeesPractical floor for acquisition financing4.5%13.8%-9.2%

Nearest comparable markets

The closest places to Sacramento that also have Childcare establishments on record. Useful for spotting a gap next door, or realising the market you are looking at is already served from the town over.

MarketEstablishmentsVs state share
West Sacramento17+31%
Elk Grove58+111%
Rancho Cordova11-48%
Citrus Heights17+32%
Davis24+85%

The wider Sacramento County market

Employment and payroll are reported at county level only, so the figures below describe the county Sacramento sits in.

County establishments (2023)
335
Sacramento County
County employees
3,671
Mid-March employment
County annual payroll
$125M
All establishments
Full Childcare data for Sacramento County

What acquirers look at

License capacity is the asset and it does not transfer automatically in California. Staff-to-child ratio requirements cap margin structurally.

Other industries in Sacramento

Nearby cities

Sources

  1. U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 ZIP Code Business Patterns. Establishment counts and size distribution by ZIP code and NAICS, aggregated over the ZIP codes assigned to each city. Retrieved 2026-09-08.
  2. U.S. Census Bureau, 2023 County Business Patterns. Establishment counts, employment and annual payroll by NAICS. Retrieved 2026-09-08.
  3. U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages (2026Q1). Quarterly establishment counts and employment for employers covered by unemployment insurance. Retrieved 2026-09-08.