Wealth Finance

How much does it cost to raise a child to age 17? Depending on household income, anywhere from $205,960 to $475,680 for a child born in 2009.

These figures come from a US Department of Agriculture report [PDF] released this month. Expenses include housing, food, transportation, clothing, health care, child care, education, and miscellaneous goods and services (i.e. toothbrushes, haircuts, videogames, comic books…the list goes on).

Annual child-rearing expenses for a child in a middle-income—between $56,670 and $98,120 before taxes—two-child, married-couple family for 2009 range from $11,650 to $13,530. The high end was $23,180, and the low end was $8,330 annually.

The USDA has been publishing these child-rearing cost estimates since 1960, when families spent an average of $25,229 (that’s $182,857 in 2009 dollars) on a child from birth through age 17. In 2009, that number is $222,360. Housing is still the biggest expense. Food and clothing cost less. Health care has doubled. Childcare/education expenses leaped from 2 percent of total expenditures in 1960 to 17 percent in 2009.

Housing accounts for 31-35 percent of total expenses. The USDA factors additional bedrooms into calculating increased housing costs for families with children, but does not include higher housing expenses associated with living in a neighborhood with good schools or other amenities for children (playgrounds, a larger yard).

Childcare/education at 17 percent of household budget (for families that have those expenses) and food at 16 percent were the next largest expenses.

As children get older, they cost more. Families spend more on food (regardless of household income level), clothing, transportation, and health care as toddlers turn into teens.

But the more children you have, the fewer dollars you spend on each. Expenditures on a single child average 25 percent more while households with three or more children average 22 percent less on each child. Sharing everything from bedrooms to clothing and toys cuts costs. Also buying food in more economical bulk packages and sibling discounts on childcare and private school add up to savings.

The most expensive place to raise children is the urban Northeast, followed by the urban West and Midwest follow. Cheapest places to bring up baby? The urban South and rural areas. Much of the regional difference is related to housing costs and childcare and education expenses.

Keep in mind that individual expenses will vary based on how many children you have and how old they are, your marital status, where you live, and your household income. Check out the USDA’s handy calculator to come up with your own budget estimates and see how you compare [PDF] with other American families.

The USDA’s figures include only direct parental expenditures. Not included: college costs and other money spent on kids over age 17. Prenatal health care and life insurance on parents are not part of the calculations; neither are gifts from grandparents, friends and family, or government expenditures including public education, Medicaid and subsidized school meals. Also, the time costs of raising children as well as missed earnings and career opportunities don’t figure into these totals—and these can be considerable. —Desiree Ferenczi

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