Today, August 4, 2009, the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) released their annual Expenditures on Children by Families report which provides estimates on the cost to raise a child born on a particular year. The report, which has been issued every year since 1960, reveals that middle-income American families can expect to spend $291,570 to raise a child born in 2008.According to early reporting by Charles Abbott for Reuters, the $291,570 cost does include inflation and accounts for the costs of food, shelter, and necessities that it takes to raise a child until age 18. Abbott reports that housing makes up 1/3 the cost, while food, education, and childcare each account for 16%.
The yearly cost for a middle-income family ranges from $11,610-$13,480. The total cost is an increase from a year ago when the cost to raise a child born in 2007 for a middle-income family was estimated to be $269,000. The estimate does not include the costs of childbirth or college. According to the Reuters piece, the most expensive place in the country to raise a child is in Northeastern cities, while the least expensive places are in rural America and in Southern cities. To read Abbott’s article click here.
According to the USDA news release, the study is used by courts and state governments in domestic suits to determine child support payments for separated parents. Higher-income families will spend more raising a child, and lower-income families will spend less than the middle-income family estimate. To read the USDA news release click here.
To read the full report click here and click on the link to the right on the webpage.
Posted: 08/04/09
