Cost of rearing your child

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Cost of raising your child

A new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture says middle-income households can expect to pay about $245,340 to rear a child born in 2013 up to age 18, or $304,480 adjusted for inflation. The cost represents a nearly 2 percent increase from 2012. The largest share of the cost is putting a roof over your child's head, followed by child care and education, food, transportation, healthcare, clothing and a miscellaneous category that includes entertainment, personal care and other lesser expenses.

Depending on where you live, housing costs can affect total annual child-rearing costs. Housing costs are lower the urban South than in the urban Midwest and Northeast. Studies are showing families increasingly are moving to areas where housing costs are lower.

The costs include day care, elementary and high school tuition, book fees and supplies, for either public or private school. For the lowest income group, child care and education accounted for 14 percent of total child-rearing expenses, partly because relatives or friends may provide care at no cost due to affordability issues, according to the study.

A recent Labor Department report on consumer prices shows food costs have been rising sharply this year, mainly due to weather-related damage to crops, including a fierce winter and drought in California. “Parents have the challenge of providing food that is not only healthful and delicious but also affordable,” said Angela Taglow of the USDA’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion.

New and used car prices are higher and so is the price of gasoline, which means families are paying more to shuttle their children from place to place. They also face higher insurance premiums and other costs associated with maintaining their vehicle.

Health care expenses include medical and dental services, prescription drugs and medical supplies not covered by insurance. Costs generally increase with age and don't vary much among income levels.

Families with more than one child can cut down on child-rearing costs by relying on hand-me-downs when it comes to clothing.

These costs include entertainment, including computers, sports equipment and media players, personal care, such as hairstyling or haircuts, and other items.

The total cost of rearing a child depends on a family’s income and other variables. Families earning less than $62,530 a year will pay less for child-rearing (in 2013 dollars) and families earning more than $106,540 will pay more, $407,820, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics.

The U.S. Department of Labor's "Expenditures on Children and Families" uses data from the 2005-06 Consumer Expenditure Survey, updated to 2013 dollars, from the Consumer Price Index, the government’s measure of inflation.

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A new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture says middle-income households can expect to pay about $245,340 to rear a child born in 2013 up to age 18, or $304,480 adjusted for inflation. The cost represents a nearly 2 percent increase from 2012. The largest share of the cost is putting a roof over your child's head, followed by child care and education, food, transportation, healthcare, clothing and a miscellaneous category that includes entertainment, personal care and other lesser expenses.

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