ChildcareCost
17 Counties · DOL 2022

Nevada Childcare Costs

Median weekly infant center care in Nevada is $184. Explore childcare pricing across 17 counties.

The typical Nevada family pays $184/wk for infant center-based daycare — about $9,544 per year. That's 6% above the U.S. national median of $174/wk. But statewide medians hide huge variation: Clark County runs $276/wk while Lyon County charges just $159/wk for the same age group.

Across Nevada, the average Childcare Burden Index — annual infant center cost as a share of local median household income — is 29.0%. 5 of 17 ranked counties (29%) carry a "High" or "Severe" burden, where infant daycare consumes 15% or more of the local median household income. 3 counties are classified as "Severe" (≥ 20% of income). The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services treats childcare as affordable only when it costs no more than 7% of household income — a bar most Nevada counties exceed. The single highest-burden county in Nevada is Esmeralda County at 24.2% of median income.

Family-based (home) daycare is typically 20-30% cheaper than center-based care, and prices fall further as children age into preschool (where licensing rules allow higher caregiver-to-child ratios) and again into school-age care (which only covers before- and after-school hours). Each Nevada county page below shows the full breakdown across infant, toddler, preschool, and school-age care for both setting types. All figures come from the U.S. Department of Labor's National Database of Childcare Prices (2022), with median household income from the U.S. Census Bureau ACS.

Median Infant Care
$184/wk
Counties Tracked
17
Avg Burden Index
29.0%

Most Expensive Counties

#1Clark County$276/wk#2Washoe County$257/wk#3Esmeralda County$190/wk#4Eureka County$190/wk#5Lincoln County$190/wk

Most Affordable Counties

#1Lyon County$159/wk#2Douglas County$177/wk#3Carson City$179/wk#4Churchill County$184/wk#5Elko County$184/wk
View full Nevada cost rankings →

All Nevada Counties

Clark County
$276/wk · 20.5% burden
Washoe County
$257/wk · 16.4% burden
Esmeralda County
$190/wk · 24.2% burden
Eureka County
$190/wk · 13.3% burden
Lincoln County
$190/wk · 14.6% burden
Pershing County
$190/wk · 14.9% burden
Storey County
$190/wk · 11.3% burden
Churchill County
$184/wk · 13.6% burden
Elko County
$184/wk · 10.9% burden
Humboldt County
$184/wk · 12.6% burden
Lander County
$184/wk · 10.3% burden
Mineral County
$184/wk · 20.5% burden
Nye County
$184/wk · 17.8% burden
White Pine County
$184/wk · 13.4% burden
Carson City
$179/wk · 13.8% burden
Douglas County
$177/wk · 10.9% burden
Lyon County
$159/wk · 11.8% burden

Read the complete Nevada guide

How to afford daycare in Nevada, subsidies and tax credits, daycare alternatives, and county-by-county affordability strategies.

Daycare Cost in Nevada 2026: A Complete Guide for Parents →

Nevada Childcare Cost FAQ

The median weekly cost of infant center daycare in Nevada is $184, or about $9,544 per year, based on the Department of Labor's National Database of Childcare Prices. That puts Nevada 6% above the U.S. national median of $174/wk.

The median monthly cost of infant center daycare in Nevada is approximately $795 ($184/wk × 4.33 weeks). Annual cost: $9,544. Costs vary significantly by county — see the ranked list above for county-by-county breakdowns. Family-based home daycare typically runs 20-30% cheaper than center care.

The median weekly cost of infant center daycare in Nevada is $184. Costs decrease as children age — typically 15-25% lower for toddlers (1-2 years), 30-40% lower for preschoolers (3-5 years), and 50-60% lower for school-age (5+) before-and-after-school care. See the per-county pages above for full age-tier breakdowns.

Daycare is significantly cheaper than a nanny in Nevada for one child. A typical nanny in Nevada costs $20-30/hour ($800-1,200/wk for 40 hours), versus daycare at $184/wk. The math flips with two or three children — most daycares charge separately per child, while a nanny's hourly rate stays the same regardless of how many siblings. Family-based home daycare splits the difference between center daycare and a private nanny.

Nevada, like all U.S. states, offers some form of subsidized childcare for low-income families through the federal Child Care and Development Block Grant (CCDBG). Eligibility is typically capped at 85% of state median income, and subsidies cover a portion of cost (not all). State-funded pre-K programs (universal in some states like Georgia and Oklahoma) provide free care for 4-year-olds. Some employers also offer Dependent Care FSAs that let you pay up to $5,000/year tax-free. Visit your Nevada Department of Health and Human Services for specific subsidy programs and waitlist status.

Most Nevada families combine multiple strategies: dual-income arrangements where both parents work, Dependent Care FSAs (saves ~$1,500-2,000/year for households in the 22-24% tax bracket), federal Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit (up to $1,050 per child), employer-provided care benefits, and family help (grandparents, relatives). At 29.0% average childcare burden, Nevada is above the HHS affordability threshold of 7% of household income — many families simply move to lower-cost counties or shift to family-based home daycare.

Clark County is the most expensive county in Nevada for infant center daycare at $276/wk ($14,333 per year). The Childcare Burden Index there is 20.5% of median household income.

The lowest infant center daycare cost in Nevada is in Lyon County at $159/wk ($8,242 per year). Family-based daycare is typically 20-30% cheaper than center care across Nevada — see each county page for the family vs. center breakdown.

Annualized infant center daycare in Nevada runs about $9,544 per year. In many U.S. states, that exceeds in-state public college tuition — and in Nevada's most expensive counties, infant care can cost more than private college. Costs drop substantially once children reach preschool age (3-5) because licensing rules allow higher caregiver-to-child ratios.

The average Childcare Burden Index across Nevada counties is 29.0% — meaning a typical Nevada family spends about that share of their gross household income on infant center daycare. 5 of 17 ranked counties (29%) have a burden of 15% or more. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services treats childcare as affordable only when it costs no more than 7% of household income.

Sources: DOL National Database of Childcare Prices
Last updated:

this entity is one of the data points covered by this site’s U.S. childcare prices dataset. The detail above comes directly from the DOL National Database of Childcare Prices; the context that follows situates the headline numbers against the broader distribution across U.S. counties.

The methodology behind every numeric value on this page is publicly documented on the the DOL National Database of Childcare Prices portal and described in detail on this site’s methodology page. Refresh cadence varies by underlying series; the page surfaces the as-of date for each number so readers can trace any figure back to the source release.

For readers using this page as a decision input, the related-entity pages elsewhere on the site provide the comparison set. The most useful comparison for this entity is typically a peer within U.S. counties with similar size, similar exposure, or similar geography — not the national-level summary alone.