BizGapMap

Home / Child day care services / Florida / Palm Beach County, FL

Palm Beach County, FL — Day care Saturation

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. 73 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: Below average — 0.76× the U.S. rate (between 0.76× and 0.86× 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. 39 ZIP cells in this county are withheld, 18 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

Below the U.S. rate   Palm Beach County day care — 76–86% of the U.S. rate

283 day care are counted in Palm Beach County — 1.5 per 10,000 people present (residents + daytime workers), 76% 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 10% between 2015 and 2023 (241 → 264). 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 33430 (Belle Glade), 33444 (Delray Beach), 33406 (West Palm Beach) — well above the national rate. On measured density alone, the lowest-density residential ZIPs with a published count are 33410 (Palm Beach Gardens), 33415 (West Palm Beach), 33433 (Boca Raton).

Census County Business Patterns (2023) puts the county-wide count at 299 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: Palm Beach County sits at 76% of the U.S. rate for day care. 18 ZIPs with population have no published count (each 0–2 businesses), so the true per-capita rate is between 76% and 86% of the U.S. rate. Why. The highest measured density is in 33430 and 33444; the lowest measured density is in 33410 and 33415.

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
283–361
published count; upper bound counts each withheld ZIP cell as 2 (39 cells) (2023)
Per 10,000 present
1.5
residents + daytime workers
U.S. average
2.0
per 10,000 present
County index
0.76×
vs. U.S.
Latest year (CBP)
299
2023 — $155M annual payroll
Residents
1,539,829
52 ZIPs with data
Workers
591,843
jobs located in county

Is the area growing?

Population
1,582,055
Census PEP, July 1 2024
Change since 2020
+5.9%
+87,779 people
Net migration 2024
+25,279
international +32,825, domestic −7,546
Jobs located here
655,726
LODES 2022, +5.1% since 2019

Palm Beach County had an estimated 1,582,055 residents on July 1, 2024 — 5.9% more than in 2020 (+87,779). In the latest year it gained 24,574 people: births minus deaths −590, international migration +32,825, domestic migration −7,546. Components are published separately and may not sum exactly.

655,726 jobs were located in the county in 2022 (+5.1% since 2019), and 616,064 employed residents lived there (+2.9% 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
33470 Loxahatchee
+30.4%
33496 Boca Raton
+18.0%
33401 West Palm Beach
+17.5%
ZIP losing residents
2015–19 → 2020–24
Change
33449 Lake Worth
−28.9%
33430 Belle Glade
−14.6%
33493 South Bay
−6.8%

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
2,245
no paid employees (2024)
Receipts
$39.7M
published gross receipts
Receipts per business
$18K
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 10% since 2015

Number of day care in Palm Beach 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.

241
2015
247
2018
246
2020
254
2021
253
2022
264
2023

Highest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
33430 Belle Glade
310%
33444 Delray Beach
303%
33406 West Palm Beach
227%
33403 West Palm Beach
183%
33407 West Palm Beach
171%
33498 Boca Raton
163%
33435 Boynton Beach
144%
33411 West Palm Beach
143%
33405 West Palm Beach
128%
33463 Lake Worth
127%
33404 West Palm Beach
125%
33470 Loxahatchee
102%
33414 Wellington
99%
33431 Boca Raton
99%
33409 West Palm Beach
90%

Lowest measured density

ZIP
vs. U.S. average
Index
33410 Palm Beach Gardens
29%
33415 West Palm Beach
34%
33433 Boca Raton
38%
33436 Boynton Beach
38%
33487 Boca Raton
42%
33426 Boynton Beach
43%
33418 Palm Beach Gardens
48%
33437 Boynton Beach
50%
33462 Lake Worth
51%
33428 Boca Raton
57%
33460 Lake Worth Beach
60%
33417 West Palm Beach
61%
33461 Lake Worth
62%
33458 Jupiter
66%
33401 West Palm Beach
67%
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.

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.

ZIPNeighborhood ResidentsWorkersDay care Per 10kIndexStatus
33430Belle Glade 19,7964,953 14 6.3 310% Very high density
33444Delray Beach 22,7379,739 17 6.2 303% Very high density
33406West Palm Beach 26,94511,139 15 4.6 227% High density
33403West Palm Beach 14,3708,902 7 3.7 183% High density
33407West Palm Beach 34,85128,241 17 3.5 171% High density
33498Boca Raton 16,8532,464 6 3.3 163% High density
33435Boynton Beach 37,8336,642 12 2.9 144% Above average
33411West Palm Beach 76,86325,543 26 2.9 143% Above average
33405West Palm Beach 19,7806,540 6 2.6 128% Above average
33463Lake Worth 65,4788,565 18 2.6 127% Above average
33404West Palm Beach 30,91217,173 10 2.5 125% Above average
33470Loxahatchee 35,6106,409 8 2.1 102% Above average
33414Wellington 60,18418,752 14 2.0 99% Below average
33431Boca Raton 24,60840,534 9 2.0 99% Below average
33409West Palm Beach 33,48920,782 8 1.8 90% Below average
33478Jupiter 14,7316,202 3 1.7 83% Below average
33432Boca Raton 21,83418,726 5 1.6 79% Below average
33467Lake Worth 58,41110,464 10 1.6 77% Below average
33446Delray Beach 28,4317,556 5 1.6 76% Below average
33401West Palm Beach 33,69835,260 7 1.4 67% Below average
33458Jupiter 55,51224,086 9 1.3 66% Below average
33461Lake Worth 49,44311,830 7 1.3 62% Below average
33417West Palm Beach 38,0795,025 5 1.2 61% Below average
33460Lake Worth Beach 37,7956,192 5 1.2 60% Below average
33428Boca Raton 47,5887,945 6 1.2 57% Below average
33462Lake Worth 33,37110,412 4 1.0 51% Below average
33437Boynton Beach 37,2294,681 4 1.0 50% Far below average
33418Palm Beach Gardens 43,67614,521 5 1.0 48% Far below average
33426Boynton Beach 24,25519,702 3 0.9 43% Far below average
33487Boca Raton 20,71728,319 3 0.9 42% Far below average
33436Boynton Beach 48,7436,165 4 0.8 38% Far below average
33433Boca Raton 47,00510,058 4 0.8 38% Far below average
33415West Palm Beach 54,5816,586 4 0.7 34% Far below average
33410Palm Beach Gardens 36,75928,286 3 0.6 29% Far below average
33402West Palm Beach —743 0–2 — — Not published
33408North Palm Beach 18,81715,232 0–2 — — Not published
33412West Palm Beach 15,8592,367 0–2 — — Not published
33413West Palm Beach 18,6684,509 0–2 — — Not published
33416West Palm Beach —131 0–2 — — Not published
33419West Palm Beach —13 0–2 — — Not published
33420West Palm Beach —86 0–2 — — Not published
33421Royal Palm Beach —28 0–2 — — Not published
33422West Palm Beach —54 0–2 — — Not published
33424Boynton Beach —138 0–2 — — Not published
33425Boynton Beach —117 0–2 — — Not published
33427Boca Raton —16 0–2 — — Not published
33429Boca Raton —48 0–2 — — Not published
33434Boca Raton 21,6867,926 0–2 — — Not published
33438Canal Point 257103 0–2 — — Not published
33445Delray Beach 33,12213,316 0–2 — — Not published
33448Delray Beach —16 0–2 — — Not published
33449Lake Worth 8,7662,126 0–2 — — Not published
33454Greenacres —32 0–2 — — Not published
33465Lake Worth —39 0–2 — — Not published
33466Lake Worth —19 0–2 — — Not published
33468Jupiter —122 0–2 — — Not published
33469Jupiter 14,6864,793 0–2 — — Not published
33472Boynton Beach 18,8855,342 0–2 — — Not published
33473Boynton Beach 11,825756 0–2 — — Not published
33474Boynton Beach —151 0–2 — — Not published
33476Pahokee 7,413930 0–2 — — Not published
33477Jupiter 12,9087,972 0–2 — — Not published
33480Palm Beach 10,92411,088 0–2 — — Not published
33481Boca Raton —22 0–2 — — Not published
33482Delray Beach —47 0–2 — — Not published
33483Delray Beach 12,66912,056 0–2 — — Not published
33484Delray Beach 26,2085,719 0–2 — — Not published
33486Boca Raton 23,2329,818 0–2 — — Not published
33488Boca Raton —95 0–2 — — Not published
33493South Bay 5,1581,445 0–2 — — Not published
33496Boca Raton 26,5797,951 0–2 — — Not published
33497Boca Raton —18 0–2 — — Not published
33499Boca Raton —40 0–2 — — Not published

Scroll the table sideways to see all columns.

Find an actual space in Boca Raton

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
Browse Boca Raton retail space →
Crexi
Free listings + market data
Browse Boca Raton retail space →
CityFeet
Retail space for lease
Browse Boca Raton 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 Palm Beach 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.

Subscribe to updates (RSS) How these numbers are built →

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: 299 establishments and $155M 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.

Read the full methodology →  ·  Data sources & vintages →

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.