WestwardAI Consulting

Local market data · Preschools and daycares · Philadelphia

AI for preschools and daycares in Philadelphia

The Philadelphia metro area had 2,042 preschools and daycares in 2022, the 4th most of 387 US metros and 3% of all in the country. They employed 25,795 people at an average of $28,968 a year. 51% have fewer than 10 staff, so the same few people answer the phone, book, follow up and do the paperwork. Those are the jobs AI tools take on today.

Talk through your school with the person who builds it

A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your preschool or daycare to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.

Preschools and daycares in Philadelphia vs the US

Philadelphia metroUnited States
Businesses2,04280,120
People employed25,795966,107
Average staff per business12.612.1
Average yearly pay per employee$28,968$28,516
Share with fewer than 10 staff51%56%

Pay here is about the same as the national average for preschools and daycares, so an hour of admin costs about what it does elsewhere. The average preschool or daycare here has 12.6 people on payroll, 5% higher than the US figure of 12.1.

How big preschools and daycares in Philadelphia are

Fewer than 5 staff625 (31%) US 37%
5 to 9422 (21%) US 19%
10 to 19570 (28%) US 24%
20 to 49383 (19%) US 17%
50 or more41 (2%) US 2%

Businesses with paid employees, by number of employees, March 2022.

Preschools and daycares by county in the Philadelphia area

Philadelphia County has the most, with 770 of the metro's 2,042 (38%). Among the 10 big metros on this page, Philadelphia ranks 6th for average pay and 5th for the share of small firms.

CountyBusinessesEmployeesAvg pay
Philadelphia County7706,520$30,912
Montgomery County2393,600$29,418
New Castle County2213,102$26,802
Delaware County2052,872$27,909
Bucks County1822,539$28,236
Chester County1272,281$28,263
Camden County1192,185$33,535
Burlington County881,328$25,279
Gloucester County631,056$24,538
Cecil County19192$25,307
Salem County9120$22,475

Census withholds pay where few firms would make it identifiable.

Where AI helps a preschool or daycare first

Start with the parts of the day where staff are pulled away from children to answer the phone: tour requests, waitlist questions, “can she come in today?” and enrollment paperwork. AI can answer common questions from your own handbook and keep the waitlist moving. It should never touch care decisions, and a director approves anything that goes to parents.

What your team's admin hours cost in Philadelphia

Change any number. The starting values are the Philadelphia averages above; the hours and the share are yours to set.

Those hours cost you$72,800 a year

The share you would hand off$21,840 a year

Hours your team gets back1,560 a year

See what we would build for this

Guides for preschools and daycares, one job each

Preschools and daycares in other big metros

MetroBusinessesAvg payRank of 387
Los Angeles2,578$35,0082nd
New York6,391$33,0661st
Chicago2,550$33,6873rd
Miami1,497$28,34210th
Dallas1,507$28,5738th
Houston1,503$25,7339th
Atlanta1,435$26,40611th
Washington1,831$32,4546th
Boston1,741$34,6497th

Where these numbers come from

From the U.S. Census Bureau, County Business Patterns 2022 (released 2024), industry code NAICS 624410 (Child day care services), for the Philadelphia-Camden-Wilmington, PA-NJ-DE-MD metro area (11 counties). It counts businesses with paid employees in March 2022, so solo owners with no payroll are not in it. Average pay is total yearly payroll divided by employees. The calculator uses 50 working weeks and 2,080 hours a year. Page checked 2026-11-12.

Find the hours your school can get back

A free 30-minute call. You leave knowing which part of your preschool or daycare to hand to AI first, what we would build, and roughly how long it takes.

Related businesses in Philadelphia

Get started using AI in your business