Surprise! Raising Kids is Expensive
By: CNN News
Updated: June 14, 2012
Raising a child just got $8,000 more expensive.
Middle-income families with a child born in 2011 can expect to spend $235,000 over 17 years, according to a new report by the United States Department of Agriculture. That cost factors in food, shelter and other necessities to raise a child, and does not account for inflation.
It also marks a whopping $8,000 increase, or 3.5% rise, in just one year.
So why do babies born in 2011 cost so much more?
In that one year alone, expenses for transportation, child care, education and food surged for middle-income families. Health care, clothing and housing costs also increased, but at a more gradual pace.
In the study, the government defined middle-income families as those with $59,000 to $103,000 in annual income before taxes.
Lower income families can expect to spend less -- to the tune of about $169,000 over 17 years and higher income families can expect to spend more -- roughly $390,000.
The USDA has been estimating the cost of raising a child since 1960. The first year the report was issued, the agency estimated it cost an average of $25,000 (or roughly $192,000 adjusted for inflation) to raise a child to age 17.
Middle-income families with a child born in 2011 can expect to spend $235,000 over 17 years, according to a new report by the United States Department of Agriculture. That cost factors in food, shelter and other necessities to raise a child, and does not account for inflation.
It also marks a whopping $8,000 increase, or 3.5% rise, in just one year.
So why do babies born in 2011 cost so much more?
In that one year alone, expenses for transportation, child care, education and food surged for middle-income families. Health care, clothing and housing costs also increased, but at a more gradual pace.
In the study, the government defined middle-income families as those with $59,000 to $103,000 in annual income before taxes.
Lower income families can expect to spend less -- to the tune of about $169,000 over 17 years and higher income families can expect to spend more -- roughly $390,000.
The USDA has been estimating the cost of raising a child since 1960. The first year the report was issued, the agency estimated it cost an average of $25,000 (or roughly $192,000 adjusted for inflation) to raise a child to age 17.
