Raising A Child Is An Extremely Expensive Undertaking

Children certainly don't come cheap. According to a report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, middle-income parents of a child born in the U.S. in 2015 will have to pay a whopping $233,610 raising it until it reaches the age of 18. Among low-income families that estimates drops to $174,690 while it rises to $372,210 for high-earning parents. The reason for that disparity is primarily wealthier parents availing of day car and other services that might prove too expensive for low-earning parents.

Housing takes the biggest slice of the parental pie at $66,240. Over the first 18 years of their child's life, parents can expect to pay $41,400 for food, $38,040 for child care and education as well as $35,490 for transportation. The bill for clothing over 18 years comes to $13,260. Costs are highest in America's Northeast while rural regions have substantially lower costs for raising kids.