Nebraska Child Care Affordability Calculator

COMING SOON: Understanding the Real Cost of Child Care for Nebraska Families

Child care is one of the largest expenses Nebraska families face and its impact on household budgets needs to be accounted for in policy conversations. The Nebraska Child Care Affordability Calculator brings that impact into focus for early childhood advocates, community leaders and policymakers who are working to make child care more affordable and accessible throughout the state.

Select any Nebraska county to instantly see how child care expenses stack up for a sample family of four earning the median county income with two children in family child care. Alternatively, customize the inputs in the left panel to reflect a specific household’s composition, income, child care arrangements and major expenses.

By making it easy to model real-world scenarios, the calculator turns the complexities of household budgeting into usable data that can inform smarter, more equitable child care policy.

For best results, we recommend opening and using the calculator in a separate window if using a smaller screen. Please allow a few seconds for the calculator to load. To reset selections, reload the page.

The calculator will be available on this page beginning June 15, 2026.