A Child Born in 2011 Will Cost $234,900 to Raise

This week, the U.S. Department of Agriculture released the annual report, Expenditures on Children by Families, finding that a middle-income family with a child born in 2011 can expect to spend about $234,900 for food, shelter and other necessities to raise that child over the next 17 years. This represents a 3.5 percent increase from 2010. Expenses for transportation, child care, education and food saw the largest percentage increases related to child rearing from 2010. There were smaller increases in housing, clothing, health care and miscellaneous expenses on a child during the same period.

The full report, Expenditures on Children by Families (2011), is available at www.cnpp.usda.gov/ExpendituresonChildrenbyFamilies.htm. In addition, an interactive web version of the report is available where families can enter the number and ages of their children to obtain an estimate of costs.

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