2.6× The typical private school or preschool for sale in the US asks 2.6 times its yearly cash flow.
We read 261 private schools and preschools 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 private schools and preschools ask between 2.0 and 3.9 times their yearly cash flow.
- Private schools and preschools ask what the typical business for sale asks, 2.6 times.
- The typical asking price for a private school or preschool is $290,000.
- Measured against revenue, the typical private school or preschool asks 0.8 times its yearly sales.
- 22% of private schools and preschools for sale offer seller financing, the same as overall.
- 48% of owners who say why they're selling are retiring.
- 38% of private schools and preschools for sale show no revenue, cash flow or EBITDA, against 18% overall.
- 25% of the private schools and preschools for sale are listed in Florida, 21% in California and 11% in Texas.
Of the personal service and child care industries, private schools and preschools sit in the middle.
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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51% of private schools and preschools ask between two and four times their yearly cash flow.
25% ask less than two, and 24% more than four.
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Bigger private schools and preschools ask more for each dollar of cash flow.
The typical ask is 2.3 times below $100,000 of yearly cash flow and 2.6 times at $100,000 to $250,000.
- Under $100k: median 2.3×, middle half from 1.8× to 3.1×
- $100k to $250k: median 2.6×, middle half from 2.1× to 3.4×
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What a private school or preschool like yours would ask.
The middle half of similar listings ask
$227,000 to $367,000
The typical one asks $274,000, 2.6× its yearly cash flow.
Based on private schools and preschools 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 private schools and preschools sell for?
Private schools and preschools listed for sale in the US ask a median 2.6 times their yearly cash flow (seller's discretionary earnings), and the middle half ask between 2.0 and 3.9 times. Sale prices usually come in lower.
How much does it cost to buy a private school or preschool?
The typical private school or preschool for sale asks $290,000, and the middle half ask between $149,000 and $712,000. Sale prices usually come in lower.
How many private schools and preschools for sale offer seller financing?
22% of private schools and preschools for sale offer seller financing, the same as overall.
What multiple of revenue do private schools and preschools ask?
The typical private school or preschool for sale asks 0.8 times its yearly sales, and the middle half ask between 0.6 and 1.1 times.
Why are private schools and preschools for sale?
48% of owners who give a reason are retiring. 25% are moving on to other businesses or interests, and 14% are relocating.
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 261 established private schools and preschools among them. 114 show both an asking price and a cash flow, and 99 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. Listings filed as schools and preschools are on this page.
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 private schools and preschools for sale ask. From What Small Businesses for Sale Ask: 39,587 US Listings, September 2026. https://www.fulkersonadvisors.com/research/small-business-multiples/schools-preschools
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.