Report: Raising a child costs $233K
COLUMBUS (WCMH) – Are you welcoming a little one into the world? You might want to brace yourself (and your wallet).
A new report from the Department of Agriculture estimates the cost of raising a child born in 2015 is $233,610, and that’s only from birth to age 17; it doesn’t take college expenses into account. That comes out to about $14,000 a year.
Families with lower incomes will spend less – about $175,000 – and families with higher incomes will spend more – up to $372,000. What makes having a kid so pricey? According to the report, housing, food and child careare the three biggest expenses, respectively.
If you already have other children, there’s good news: the more kids you have, the less each child will cost you individually.
“As families increase in size, children may share a bedroom, clothing and toys can be reused, and food can be purchased in larger, more economical packages,” said the report’s author and CNPP economist Mark Lino, PhD.
So how does the cost of one child compare to the cost of multiple children? The report found that families with one child spend 27 percent more on the one child compared to 2-child families, and families with three more children spend about 24 percent less on each.