Parents will tell you that raising a child isn’t cheap. But have you ever wondered what the actual cost is?
The USDA recently issued a report known as “The Cost of Raising a Child.” The federal agency has been tracking the cost of raising a child since 1960 and this analysis examines expenses by age of child, household income, budgetary component, and region of the country.
Based on the most recent data, a family will spend approximately $12,980 annually, per child in a middle-income, two-child, married-couple family. That means those families may expect to spend more than $233 thousand dollars for food, shelter, and other necessities to raise a child through age 17. The numbers don’t include the cost of a college education.
Housing accounts for the largest share at 29% of total child-rearing costs. Food is second at 18%, and child care/education (for those with the expense) is third at 16%.
Expenses also increase as a child ages. Overall annual expenses averaged about $300 less for children from birth to 2 years old and averaged $900 more for teenagers between 15-17 years of age.
Families in the urban Northeast spent the most on a child, followed by families in the urban West, urban South, and urban Midwest. Families in rural areas throughout the country spent 24 percent less on a child.