Buying a child care center in Space Coast and Volusia
Space Coast and Volusia has 29 established child care centers by our count: companies in business at least 15 years that still file with the state every year and aren't part of a larger group. Of those, 62% have been in business 20 years or more. Most will never be listed for sale, and many of their owners have never been asked.
What it takes to own one
Child care centers in Space Coast and Volusia come in every size. Here's what owning one could look like at three levels, from a solid company to one of the leaders, with a small business loan covering most of the price.
- Earns about
- $108,000 a year
- Price about
- $336,000
- Your cash
- $47,000
- Could pay you
- up to $48,000 a year
- Earns about
- $199,000 a year
- Price about
- $618,000
- Your cash
- $87,000
- Could pay you
- up to $88,000 a year
- Earns about
- $253,000 a year
- Price about
- $784,000
- Your cash
- $110,000
- Could pay you
- up to $112,000 a year
Earnings are owner earnings: profit plus what the owner pays themselves, before loan payments and taxes. They and the prices are our estimates from public records, not the owners' figures, and we value companies like these at about 3.1 times a year's owner earnings. Your cash covers the down payment and closing costs, and what the business could pay you is what's left after the loan payments and the cushion lenders require. The more cash you bring, the further up you can go.
Age, size and location
Revenue is our estimate from public records, grouped into wide ranges.
| In business | Companies |
|---|---|
| Under 20 years | 11 |
| 20 to 29 years | 12 |
| 30 to 39 years | 3 |
| 40 years or more | 3 |
| Estimated yearly revenue | Companies |
|---|---|
| Under $1M | 16 |
| $1M to $2M | 4 |
| $2M to $4M | 2 |
| County | Companies |
|---|---|
| Volusia | 16 |
| Brevard | 12 |
| Other counties | 1 |
| Town | Companies |
|---|---|
| Port Orange | 5 |
What the best child care centers have in common
- Rooms full or nearly full, with a waitlist, especially preschool rooms, where each teacher can look after more children.
- A credentialed director who isn't the owner and plans to stay.
- Several years of clean inspections.
- A healthy mix of private tuition and VPK, so the center doesn't depend on state rates.
- Teachers who have been there for years, and pay that keeps them.
- Accreditation and the state's Gold Seal Quality Care designation, which brings higher School Readiness payment rates.
- A building, playground and kitchen in good shape, with a long lease or owned property.
- Tuition collected on time by autopay, with little owed by families who have left.
What to check before you buy
- Inspection reports. Read several years of them, and ask how each finding was fixed. Serious violations can also cost a center its Gold Seal.
- Enrollment. Compare each room's enrollment with its licensed capacity and actual attendance, and check unpaid tuition.
- Public funding. The state and the coalition set VPK and School Readiness rates, not you. Know how much revenue depends on them.
- Credentials. Find out who holds the director and staff credentials. If those people leave at the sale, you may be out of compliance on day one.
- Insurance and incidents. Review liability coverage (including abuse coverage, and vehicle coverage if the center transports children) and any claims or complaints.
- The building. The license is tied to the location. Check fire inspections, zoning, the playground and the lease term.
- Storms. Ask whether families kept paying through past hurricane closures, and what happened to VPK and School Readiness payments.
Questions to ask the owner
- How full is each room today, and how long is the waitlist?
- Who holds the director credential, and are your credentialed teachers planning to stay?
- What has come up in inspections over the last few years, and how did you fix it?
- How much of your revenue comes from VPK and School Readiness, and how much from private tuition?
- When did you last raise tuition, and how do your rates compare with centers nearby?
- How often do teachers leave, and how do you find new ones?
- Have there been any incidents, parent complaints or insurance claims involving children?
To learn what these companies do, which licenses they need and how ownership works, read our full guide to buying a child care center in Florida.
Owning a company in Space Coast and Volusia
The local economy
This region covers Brevard, Volusia and Flagler counties: Melbourne, Palm Bay, Titusville, Cocoa, Cocoa Beach, Merritt Island, Daytona Beach, Port Orange, Ormond Beach, DeLand, Deltona, New Smyrna Beach and Palm Coast. Brevard's economy is built around space. Rockets launch often from Kennedy Space Center and Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, and aerospace and defense manufacturers and their suppliers employ engineers, technicians and machinists across the county. Port Canaveral is a major cruise port.
Volusia depends more on tourism, beaches and big events, with Daytona's motorsports and motorcycle rallies drawing crowds. Health care and a large retired population matter too. Flagler County, around Palm Coast, is mostly residential. Machine shops, electrical and engineering firms, home service companies, marine businesses and restaurants all have a place here.
What's different about owning a company here
Brevard's fortunes follow the space and defense programs. A company that sells to aerospace firms should be able to show you how many customers it depends on and how secure their work is. Business in Volusia spikes around big events and the winter season, so look at revenue by month.
The whole coast faces storm risk. In 2022, Hurricane Ian brought flooding to much of Volusia, and Hurricane Nicole, which came ashore near Vero Beach six weeks later, washed away beaches and seawalls along the Volusia coast. Beachfront property needs careful insurance and structural checks. The Indian River Lagoon and the St. Johns River make boating and fishing part of daily life, which keeps the marine trades busy. Palm Coast and the Palm Bay area have added many new homes, and companies serving those areas have grown with them.