3.0× The typical day care or child care center for sale in the US asks 3.0 times its yearly cash flow.
We read 443 day care and child care centers listed for sale on a major online marketplace and compared each asking price with the cash flow its seller reported.
The findings in eight sentences.
- The middle half of day care and child care centers ask between 2.3 and 3.9 times their yearly cash flow.
- Day care and child care centers ask more than the typical business for sale, which asks 2.6 times.
- The typical asking price for a day care or child care center is $440,000.
- Measured against revenue, the typical day care or child care center asks 0.8 times its yearly sales.
- 17% of day care and child care centers for sale offer seller financing, against 22% overall.
- 44% of owners who say why they're selling are retiring.
- 33% of day care and child care centers for sale show no revenue, cash flow or EBITDA, against 18% overall.
- 22% of the day care and child care centers for sale are listed in Texas, 17% in Florida and 8% in New Jersey.
Of the personal service and child care industries, day care and child care centers ask more than most.
Laundromats ask the most, 4.7 times their yearly cash flow, and dry cleaners the least, 2.1 times.
- Laundromats: median 4.7×, middle half from 3.5× to 5.6×
- Day care and child care centers: median 3.0×, middle half from 2.3× to 3.9×
- Private schools and preschools: median 2.6×, middle half from 2.0× to 3.9×
- Pet grooming, boarding and supply businesses: median 2.5×, middle half from 1.9× to 3.3×
- Dry cleaners: median 2.1×, middle half from 1.6× to 2.8×
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60% of day care and child care centers ask between two and four times their yearly cash flow.
23% ask more than four, and 17% less than two.
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Day care and child care centers ask 2.5 to 3.1 times at each size.
The typical ask is 2.5 times below $100,000 of yearly cash flow, 3.1 times at $100,000 to $250,000 and 3.0 times at $250,000 to $500,000.
- Under $100k: median 2.5×, middle half from 1.9× to 3.8×
- $100k to $250k: median 3.1×, middle half from 2.5× to 3.8×
- $250k to $500k: median 3.0×, middle half from 2.5× to 3.9×
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What a day care or child care center like yours would ask.
The middle half of similar listings ask
$362,000 to $544,000
The typical one asks $450,000, 3.1× its yearly cash flow.
Based on day care and child care centers with $100k to $250k of yearly cash flow. These are asking prices, not sale prices or appraisals.
After the close.
We write the software a newly bought business runs on, one process at a time, such as quoting, scheduling or billing, and the new owner keeps the code. How we work with buyers and operating partners.
The data.
We read the listings on September 24, 2026, and their full details from September 25 to 30, 2026.
Questions
What multiple of cash flow do day care and child care centers sell for?
Day care and child care centers listed for sale in the US ask a median 3.0 times their yearly cash flow (seller's discretionary earnings), and the middle half ask between 2.3 and 3.9 times. Sale prices usually come in lower.
How much does it cost to buy a day care or child care center?
The typical day care or child care center for sale asks $440,000, and the middle half ask between $211,000 and $864,000. Sale prices usually come in lower.
How many day care and child care centers for sale offer seller financing?
17% of day care and child care centers for sale offer seller financing, against 22% overall.
What multiple of revenue do day care and child care centers ask?
The typical day care or child care center for sale asks 0.8 times its yearly sales, and the middle half ask between 0.5 and 1.1 times.
Why are day care and child care centers for sale?
44% of owners who give a reason are retiring. 30% are moving on to other businesses or interests, and 11% are selling for family or personal reasons.
How we did it
We read every listing on a major US online marketplace for businesses for sale on September 24, 2026, and went back to each one from September 25 to 30, 2026 for its full details. This page covers the 443 established day care and child care centers among them. 225 show both an asking price and a cash flow, and 172 of those are left after the exclusions below.
Older listings use a flat list of named categories, and newer ones a two-level list whose subcategories have no names. A listing without its own photo shows its category's default photo. Each default photo almost always shows up in a single newer subcategory, so each named category joins the subcategory where its photo appears.
A multiple is the asking price divided by the seller's discretionary earnings the listing reports. We left out multiples below 0.3 or above 20, and listings whose price includes the property. Prices and cash flows on this page come from the listings with a multiple. These are asking prices, and a business usually sells for less than it asks. The full method.
Cite this page
Fulkerson Advisors (2026). What day care and child care centers for sale ask. From What Small Businesses for Sale Ask: 39,587 US Listings, September 2026. https://www.fulkersonadvisors.com/research/small-business-multiples/day-care-centers
Use any of these numbers or charts. Credit Fulkerson Advisors and link to this page. The data is under a CC BY 4.0 license.