Thinking of having kids? The cost has risen over time.
Raising a family used to be so affordable. Nowadays, you’re lucky if the price tag doesn’t break the bank.
The Brookings Institution says that the total average family expenditures on a child born in 2015 to a middle-class family with two children, adjusted for higher expected future inflation, would be $310,605.
As we saw at the height of the pandemic, these higher costs may lead many prospective parents to wait to have children or decide not to have children at all. In 2021, 44% of non-parents of child-rearing age said that they were unlikely to have children someday, according to a Pew Research Center survey.
Where does the money go? For a middle-income family, housing accounts for the largest share at 29% of total child-rearing costs, according to the USDA. Food is second at 18%, and child care/education (for those with the expense) is third at 16%. Expenses vary depending on the age of the child.
”Everything is more expensive and each family makes its own set of trade-offs,” said Ellen Galinsky, president of the Families and Work Institute in New York. “Many parents are working longer hours, or another job, and they are giving up time at home. It’s a complete catch-22.”
Sources
- Brookings Institution: It’s getting more expensive to raise children. And government isn’t doing much to help.
- U.S. Department of Agriculture: The Cost of Raising a Child
Statista: Average sales price of new homes sold in the United States from 1965 to 2021
Pew Research Center: How the American middle class has changed over the last five decades
BumpReveal: How Much Does It Cost To Raise A Child — History From 1960 To 2018
