Having kids is rewarding and meaningful, but one thing it’s not? Cheap! It’s always been costly, but these days it’s especially challenging for families to keep up. While parents can only control some costs, understanding where the money goes can definitely help and research gives us some insight.
A recent SmartAsset study estimates that raising a kid in Massachusetts costs nearly $36-thousand a year. That’s the most expensive state overall, while Mississippi is the cheapest, it costs less than half that there. When you add up those costs over 18 years, it’s a $439-thousand difference!
Based on research from LendingTree and SmartAsset, these are estimates of the biggest expenses in raising a child today:
- Housing - 29% of total costs. But this can be much higher in some states, like California and Hawaii.
- Child care and education - 16% of total costs. In some areas, this can soar to close to 30% of median family income.
- Food - 18% of total costs. U.S. Department of Agriculture data reveals that a family of four now spends between $983 and $1,599 per month on food, depending on dietary habits and location.
- Transportation - 15% of total costs.
- Health care - 9% of total costs.
- Miscellaneous - 7% of total costs. This includes everything from sports fees to birthday parties to summer camps and more.
- Clothing - 6% of total costs.
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