Raising a child born today in the United States to the age of 18 will cost a family $245,340, the U.S. government said in an annual report today.
The U.S. Agriculture Department issued an annual report on Monday showing the cost a family incurs in raising a child increased by 1.8% in 2013, compared with 2012.
The report found that households in the northeastern part of the country will pay disproportionately more — as much as $282,480 U.S. — compared to families in the Midwest, South or West Coast.
With inflation factored in, the average figure means a family will pay as much as $304,480 in real U.S. dollars to raise a child born today to the age of 18.
The report found that families are still spending money in roughly the same ratios through the years, but the costs of individual components are escalating.
The report does not include costs incurred after 18, such as post-secondary education that can cost between $18,000 and $40,000 U.S. — nor does it factor in costs associated with pregnancy, such as a loss of income.
In 1960, the first year the USDA started tracking the data, a child born that year would likely cost $25,230 U.S. to raise until the year 1978. (In today's dollars, that's the equivalent of $198,560 U.S.
For most families, the cost of housing remains the biggest expense, eating up 30% of the costs of a child. Child care and education is the second-largest expenditure at 18%, followed by food at 16%. Transportation is next, at 14%.
The report also found that expenses decrease as a family has more children: Families with three or more children spend an average of 22% less per child than families with two or fewer, because children are able to share toys, clothes and bedrooms, the report says.
