As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, Nebraska has 2 cities among the largest 250 in the nation.
Nebraska runs 5.87 licensed childcare establishments per 1,000 children under five — nearly 40% above the national rate and second only to North Dakota in the Midwest. The licensed system covers all but 14.7% of estimated demand, roughly half the national gap. Three-quarters of mothers of young children are in the labor force, and the state's infant tuition runs $2,400 below the national average. Yet pre-K reaches only a third of 4-year-olds, the per-child investment is the Midwest's lowest, and there is no paid leave. Nebraska's 9th-place finish is a story about home-based providers that haven't disappeared and a metro economy in Omaha-Lincoln that has scaled center capacity with the population — not about ambitious public policy.
Key highlights & actionable takeaways
- Moderate (61/100), ranked 9th nationally — second only to North Dakota in the Midwest, just shy of Strong tier.
- Establishment density of 5.87 per 1,000 kids under five — 40% above the national rate; slot gap is half the national average at 14.7%.
- 75% of mothers of young children work, five points above the national rate; per-child pre-K spending is the lowest in the Midwest.
Affordability — 41/100
A center-based infant slot in Nebraska runs $14,757 a year — about $2,400 below the $17,163 national figure but consuming 19.7% of the state's $74,985 median household income, just below the 21.9% national share. The childcare-to-rent ratio sits at 1.19, above the 1.06 national figure because Nebraska's rent base ($1,035/month) is unusually low. Toddler care runs $13,573; preschool, $12,873. Family child care offers meaningful relief at $10,382 for infants. The affordability dimension lands in low-Moderate territory — better than the national average in absolute terms, but the state's high mothers' LFP and dual-earner household pattern means more families are absorbing the bill simultaneously, which keeps the effective burden meaningful even at below-national pricing.
Supply — 84/100
Nebraska's standout dimension. The state licensed 96,200 childcare slots against 110,880 children with potential need — a 14.7% gap, roughly half the 27% national rate and one of the tightest gaps in the country. Of the 157,889 kids under five with all parents working, the licensed system can serve more than 60% at full enrollment. The state operates 746 licensed establishments at 5.87 per 1,000 children under five, well above the 4.21 national rate and second in the Midwest only to North Dakota. The 84/100 Supply score is the dominant reason Nebraska clears the top-10 threshold nationally. The supply pattern reflects both a strong home-based provider tradition (which has held up better than in most states) and Omaha-Lincoln metro center capacity that has grown with the population base. Supply is the dimension where Nebraska most clearly outperforms its peer states.
Workforce — 52/100
The median Nebraska childcare worker earns $13.88 an hour — about $1.50 below the $15.41 national median and 63.8% of the state's $21.75 living wage for a single adult. That share lines up almost exactly with the 62.6% national figure. Annual median pay sits at $28,860 across 9,070 workers in the occupation — a workforce comparable in size to Iowa's. The Workforce dimension lands at the national midpoint and reflects the structural wage gap that affects every state in the index. Nebraska's score is not what's lifting the state's overall ranking — the lift comes from supply and family strain, not wages.
Family Strain — 83/100
Nebraska mothers of children under six participate in the labor force at 75.4% — seven points above the 68.2% national rate and one of the highest in the Midwest. Single-parent households make up 28.9% of families with kids under 18, well below the 31.8% national figure. The Family Strain dimension scores at 83/100, anchored by both metrics simultaneously — high mothers' LFP and low single-parent share. The pattern is the Plains-state norm: dual-earner married households remain the dominant family structure for kids under five, and the supply-rich childcare market (rather than informal arrangements alone) is what keeps mothers in the workforce.
Policy Support — 52/100
Nebraska enrolls 34% of 4-year-olds in state pre-K and 16% of 3-year-olds — modest enrollment with $2,225 per-child spending, the lowest per-child investment in the Midwest. The program meets 6 of NIEER's 10 quality benchmarks. CCDF subsidies reach 22.7% of eligible children (about 8,800 monthly), close to the national midpoint. The state has no paid family leave program. Head Start serves another 4,750 children. Policy Support sits at the national midpoint and reflects a state that has chosen quiet steadiness over ambitious investment — the per-child spending number in particular suggests pre-K is a lower priority than it is in neighboring Iowa.
City spotlight
Lincoln scores 59/100 (Moderate, #59 of 250) — the higher-ranked of Nebraska's two cities in the index, with Lancaster County's professional-sector economy and university-anchored employment supporting both household income and supply density. Omaha scores 57/100 (Moderate, #75 of 250) — close behind Lincoln with Douglas County's larger metro economy producing a similar profile. The narrow 2-point spread between the two cities suggests Nebraska's childcare market is unusually consistent across its two main metros — neither city carries the bottom-decile drag that affects, for example, Detroit or Indianapolis within their states.
In-home care in Nebraska
Beverly Research perspective: Nebraska's in-home care market is concentrated in the Omaha and Lincoln metros, with Omaha carrying the larger share of formal placements. Full-time live-out nanny rates in the Omaha metro typically run $18-25/hour for one child — slightly above the national mid-tier in line with the metro's professional-class household income base. The supply-rich center market means in-home care competes against a more functional regulated sector than it does in most states; the per-family economics for nanny care tilt toward households with two professional incomes who specifically prefer one-on-one care for infants, or those needing scheduling flexibility for shift-based or rotating-schedule employment. Nanny shares between two families have begun to appear in west Omaha and south Lincoln as a workaround for higher-end center waitlists.
Methodology: The the score is a 0-100 composite score across five dimensions: Affordability (30 pts), Supply (25 pts), Workforce Health (15 pts), Family Strain (15 pts), and Policy Support (15 pts). State-level prices and supply use population-weighted county aggregates. Policy Support is measured at the state level. Full methodology and data sources: beverly.io/research/methodology.
Sources: U.S. Census Bureau ACS 2019-2023 5-year estimates; U.S. Department of Labor Women's Bureau National Database of Childcare Prices; U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics OEWS (May 2024) and QCEW; Buffett Early Childhood Institute / Bipartisan Policy Center / Child Care Aware childcaregap.org (Sept 2025); NIEER State of Preschool Yearbook 2024; HHS ACF CCDF FY2023; National Partnership for Women & Families (March 2026).