US Cost of raising a child calculator
Estimate the total cost of raising a child to adulthood — adding up each year's spending with inflation — plus the average per year and per month, so you can plan and save with realistic numbers.
Your child
The cost per year is your own estimate of what one child adds to your spending — housing, food, childcare, clothing, activities. Childcare and education can dominate the early and late years, so adjust the annual figure to your situation rather than relying on a single average.
- Years of support
- 18
- Average per year
- $19,512.03
- Average per month
- $1,626.00
The headline figure adds up each year's cost after inflation, so later years cost more in cash terms. "Today's money" strips inflation out for a like-for-like sense of the burden. Neither figure includes university/college — that's usually a separate, large line item worth planning for on its own.
How this estimate works
The calculator adds up the cost of one child year by year, from their current age to the age you choose to support them, raising each year's figure by an inflation rate so the total reflects rising prices. It also shows the equivalent in today's money — the annual cost times the number of years — so you can see the burden with inflation stripped out.
Why it's your number, not an average
Headline "cost of raising a child" figures — often quoted around a quarter of a million dollars to age 18 — hide enormous variation. The real cost depends on where you live, childcare choices, schooling, and lifestyle. Rather than impose an average, this tool asks for your own annual estimate, because a family in a high-cost city with full-time daycare and one in a low-cost area with a stay-at-home parent can differ by a factor of three.
Worked example
Estimating $15,000 a year from birth to 18, with 3% annual cost inflation, totals about $351,000 in cash terms — or $270,000 in today's money. The inflated figure is higher because a year of child-rearing at age 17 costs more in dollars than the same year at age 1.
What dominates the cost
- Childcare is often the single biggest line in the early years — sometimes rivalling rent — then drops sharply once school starts.
- Housing (a bigger place) and food rise steadily with age.
- University or college is usually a separate, large cost beyond age 18 — plan for it on its own with the savings goal calculator.
To fit the cost into your monthly money, see the 50/30/20 budget calculator.
Related calculators
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to raise a child?
Does this include university or college?
Why does the total differ from the 'today's money' figure?
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