The Cost of Raising a Child Today

Housing is the largest expense for families across all income levels, followed by childcare, then food, and the amount a family spends shifts based on geography. But no matter a family’s location, the reality is that raising kids is expensive.

What’s the grand total of raising a child? Today, middle-income parents can plan to spend about $241k ($302k adjusted for projected inflation) on a child from birth to the age of 17, according to the latest Expenditures on Children by Families report published by the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA). And that’s just for necessities. College can easily run parents an average of $17k per year for public schools alone.

For more on the breakdown of child-rearing expenditures, how income levels affect spending and a comparison of child costs in 1960 versus today, read the Weaver newsletter article, What do Today’s Parents Spend on Raising a Child?