As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, Henderson ranks the 57th largest city in the nation.

Henderson is the affluent edge of metro Las Vegas — a city of about 330,000 anchored by Green Valley, Lake Las Vegas, and the corporate offices that have moved southeast off the Strip. Its $88,654 median household income is the only one in Nevada that drops infant-care burden to 18.1% of pre-tax pay, well below the 21.9% national average. But Henderson sits in the same Clark County childcare desert as the rest of the valley: roughly 20 licensed slots per 100 working-parent kids under five, against Nevada's 66.1% statewide supply gap, the worst in the country. Affluent families respond by converting to in-home care rather than queueing for slots. Henderson ranks 239th of 250.

Key highlights & actionable takeaways

239th nationally, score 33 (Crisis) — Nevada's third-best, the only city in the state to escape Crisis on affordability.
$88,654 median household income drops infant-care burden to 18.1% of pre-tax pay — below the 21.9% national average.
Inherits the worst statewide supply gap in the country (Nevada: 66.1%) and bottom-decile pre-K and CCDF reach.

Actionable takeaways

Henderson is the only Nevada city to escape Crisis on affordability. With $88,654 median household income and an 18.1% burden ratio, this is the valley's affluent corner — Green Valley, Lake Las Vegas, and the southeast corporate cluster. Worth contrasting against Sunrise Manor, Paradise, and North Las Vegas in the same Clark County.
Affluent households respond differently to the same supply collapse. Henderson families convert to in-home care — full-time live-out at $20-28/hr, nanny shares, au pairs — rather than queue for a slot. The supply floor is identical to the rest of the valley; the workaround is what differs.
The Strain dimension reads access, not necessity. At 62.4% mothers' LFP — six points below national in a city with the valley's highest income — the second earner pulling back on supply scarcity is the most plausible read. A signal worth pairing with center-waitlist reporting.

Affordability — 68/100

A year of center-based infant care in Henderson runs about $16,033 — the same Clark County price every Las Vegas Valley city pays — but Henderson's $88,654 median household income lifts the burden ratio to 18.1%, well below the 21.9% national average. The childcare-to-rent ratio of 0.76 means a typical Henderson family pays slightly less per month for an infant slot than for the apartment, an unusual position in this cohort. For a Henderson family with one infant in care, that puts annual childcare in the same range as a mid-priced car loan rather than a second mortgage. The relative affordability advantage is real, but it stops at the Henderson city line — incomes drop fast moving north into Las Vegas proper or North Las Vegas.

Supply — 3/100

Henderson sits in the same Clark County childcare desert as the rest of the Las Vegas Valley. The 19.9 licensed slots per 100 working-parent kids under 5 and the 1.67 establishments per 1,000 young children figures apply countywide — Nevada's statewide supply gap of 66.1% is the worst in the United States, and Clark County is the densest concentration of that shortage. The structural drivers familiar to any Las Vegas observer apply here too: a casino and hospitality workforce on shift hours incompatible with conventional center schedules, a population that turns over faster than provider businesses can stabilize, and the post-2008 housing collapse that wiped out a generation of small home-based providers. Affluent Henderson families respond differently to the shortage than lower-income Las Vegas families — they tend to convert to in-home care rather than queue for slots — but the underlying scarcity is identical.

Workforce — 18/100

Childcare workers in Henderson earn a median of $13.67 per hour — about $28,430 annually — clearing just 56.5% of the local living wage of $24.20/hr. The wage figure is a Clark County average shared with Las Vegas and North Las Vegas. In a metro where Strip-adjacent service jobs pay higher and offer more stable hours, that wage drives chronic provider turnover and is a structural ceiling on supply expansion regardless of how many parents can afford the rates.

Family strain — 44/100

About 62.4% of Henderson mothers with kids under 6 are in the labor force — six points below the 68.2% national rate. In a city with the highest median household income of any Nevada peer, that lower participation reflects access more than necessity: when the supply pipeline is broken, the household with the second earner is the one that pulls back. The 30.6% single-parent share is below the 31.8% national figure and the lowest of any Nevada city in the cohort — a demographic profile that looks more like an affluent Mountain West suburb than the Strip.

Policy support — 15/100

Inherited from Nevada. The state enrolls just 9% of 4-year-olds in publicly funded pre-K and 1% of 3-year-olds. Per-child pre-K spending is $9,703, NIEER quality benchmarks score 7 of 10, and CCDF subsidies reach 12.7% of eligible kids monthly — bottom decile on every measure. Nevada provides zero weeks of paid family leave. Policy is measured at the state level.

In-home care in Henderson

Among Las Vegas Valley cities, Henderson has the most active in-home childcare market — driven by the higher household incomes, the lower share of single-parent households, and the same county-wide supply collapse pushing affluent families toward private alternatives. Full-time live-out nanny rates typically run $20-28/hr, with experienced career nannies and bilingual placements trending higher. Nanny shares between two Henderson families are a common workaround for households who want center-style socialization without the waitlist, and au pair placements are growing among households with multiple young children.

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). City-level prices and supply use the city's primary containing county. 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).

Methodology. The State of Childcare Index 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). Each dimension draws on publicly available federal data: U.S. Census ACS (5-year), DOL Women's Bureau NDCP, BLS OEWS and QCEW, the Buffett/BPC/CCAoA childcaregap.org dataset, NIEER State of Preschool, and HHS ACF CCDF reports. City-level prices and supply use the city's primary containing county. Policy Support is measured at the state level. Full methodology and data sources: /research/methodology.