Nebraska’s Child Care Costs Are Holding Back Young Families

We recently posted about childcare regulations, and Nebraska’s solid standing according to the Archbridge Institute. But there are lots of data points to consider when it comes to childcare issues, and how childcare influences a state’s workforce, and another one showed up today, from Wallethub–childcare costs.

When we talk about Nebraska’s outmigration problem, we often treat it as a career opportunities issue. We assume young professionals leave because they are chasing bigger titles or higher salaries on the coasts. But for today’s dual-career couples, the decision to stay or leave can come down to a different calculation—one where child care acts as a massive penalty on upward mobility.

The study from WalletHub ranking Nebraska Number 1 for the highest child care cost burden on married-couple families is a glaring warning sign for our state’s economic growth.

The Cost of Stepping Away

Consider the math a young, college-educated couple must do when facing these massive costs. If infant care swallows a huge chunk of one parent’s take-home pay, the temptation to have one partner step out of the workforce for a few years is incredibly high.

But for ambitious young professionals, stepping away isn’t just about losing today’s paycheck. It results in a long-term economic penalty:

• The Experience Penalty: A multi-year gap in a resume stalls skill acquisition and leadership development exactly when a career should be accelerating.

• The Upward Mobility Ceiling: Missing out on promotions and compounding raises sets a professional back permanently, reducing their lifetime earning potential.

• The Future Opportunity Cost: That lost income down the road means fewer resources later in life—whether that’s paying for private school tuition, saving for kids’ college, purchasing a house, or even planning for a comfortable retirement.

When both parents have careers, high child care costs force young families to choose between stalling their professional growth or watching their current income get decimated. If neighboring states offer a lower hurdle, young talent may simply pack up and move. And on the surface, Nebraska’s neighbors all look better than we do right now.

The Geography of the Crisis

This issue isn’t uniform across the state; it morphs depending on where you live. In urban areas like Omaha and Lincoln, the crisis is defined by hyper-inflationary costs and long waitlists for center-based care.

But in greater Nebraska, the problem shifts from a cost crisis to an absolute supply crisis. Official Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) child care licensure data, tracked in analyses by the Buffett Early Childhood Institute, reveals a stark geographic reality: 10 of Nebraska’s 93 counties have zero licensed child care facilities of any kind. Furthermore, data from the statewide We Care for Kids campaign indicate that 84% of Nebraska counties lack sufficient open child care slots to meet local demand.

Additionally, national mapping by the Center for American Progress shows that over 36% of Nebraska’s rural population lives in a child care desert, defined as a region where there are more than three children under age 5 competing for every single licensed spot.

In these communities, young professionals can’t even “buy” their way out of the problem. When an accountant, engineer, or nurse can’t find a single safe slot for their infant, they cannot return to work. Local businesses suffer, public services thin out, and the community’s economic growth grinds to a halt.

Policy Solutions: Beyond the Subsidy

The Nebraska Legislature has taken bipartisan steps recently, such as passing LB304 to make expanded child care subsidies permanent. But while subsidies support lower-income workers, middle-class young families are still left feeling the squeeze.

If we want to make Nebraska a magnet for young families, our public policy must focus on expanding the supply of care to bring prices down:

• Cut the Regulatory Red Tape: We must streamline local zoning laws and DHHS occupational licensing requirements to make it faster and cheaper for safe, family-home providers to open and expand, especially in rural areas.

• Expand the Child Care Tax Credit Act: Ensure state tax credits meaningfully offset costs for middle-bracket professional households, keeping more of their income in their pockets.

• Encourage Regional Collaborations: Leverage models like the 6 Regions, One Nebraska initiative, which brings business leaders, economic developers, and providers together to build community-directed child care solutions.

We cannot afford to let child care shortages dictate the career trajectories of our brightest young minds. If we want to win the battle against outmigration, we have to make Nebraska a place where young parents can build careers and raise families without being economically penalized for doing both.