The Learning Experience Expanding Further Into SoCal and DMV
The child care franchise plans to open four new locations in Southern California and eight new locations in Maryland and Virginia within the next two years
By Nick Trombola January 30, 2026 3:15 pm
reprints
Demand for early education and day care services is skyrocketing across the country, and a national brand is taking the opportunity to expand its reach further into Southern California and the DMV with multiple pre-lease deals.
The Learning Experience, which operates more than 450 locations across 30 states and the U.K., plans to open four new spaces in California’s San Bernardino and Riverside counties over the next two years. The locations — in Loma Linda, Murrieta, Menifee and Winchester — will each feature about 10,000 square feet of build-to-suit space, and employ up 30 staff members to serve up to 180 children apiece.
The properties are each owned by separate landlords and are individually leased to Learning Experience franchisees. All four locations are currently under construction and most do not yet have addresses, according to a Learning Experience spokesperson. The Menifee location will be on a currently vacant parcel adjacent to 28881 Newport Road, according to a company spokesperson.
The Learning Experience is also planning more expansions in Maryland and Northern Virginia, it announced last week. The company will open eight new locations in the region within the next two years, in Gaithersburg, Md., Laurel, Md., Clarksburg, Md., Lake Linganore, Md., Oxon Hill, Md., Beulah, Md., Alexandria, Va., and Mount Vernon, Va. Those locations will span about 10,000 square feet each, though exact addresses and property ownership were not immediately clear.
The Learning Experience’s development team analyzes daytime population, traffic patterns, population density of children ages 6 and under within certain area, and average household incomes for any given location, according to a company spokesperson. Once a market is chosen, it will then establish both company-owned and franchise sites — particularly in suburban areas for the latter — with franchisees inking 15-year licensing agreements with the company.
The Florida-based franchise plans to add more than 150 new locations to its portfolio over the next three years. As such, the U.S. child care industry market size was estimated at about $65 billion in 2024, and is projected to hit nearly $110 billion by 2033, according to a report last year by Grand View Research.
Nick Trombola can be reached at ntrombola@commercialobserver.com.
