Cost of Raising Kids in 2009 According to the Department of Agriculture

Did you know that the US Department of Agriculture keeps track of how much it costs to raise kids?  Maybe you did, but I didn’t.  They did a detailed job of it, too. Here’s the PDF if you’re looking for a fascinating bedtime read.  I started reading it, but I got stuck at all the math bits, specifically when I saw this: Ei = f(Y, HS, CA).  I’ll take it on faith then that they’ve done their homework and have reliable information.  Thankfully scientists know we are, for the most part, not scientists ourselves, and they include extracts of their work right at the beginning.  Here, have some 2009 facts, according to Mark Lino, PhD, funded by the US Department of Agriculture:    

Child-rearing expenses vary considerably by household income level. For a child in a two-child, husband-wife family, annual expenses ranged from $8,330 to $9,450, on average, (depending on age of the child) for households with before-tax income less than $56,670, from $11,650 to $13,530 for households with before-tax income between $56,670 and $98,120, and from $19,380 to $23,180 for households with before-tax income more than $98,120.   

    

As a proportion of total child-rearing expenses, housing accounted for the largest share across income groups, comprising 31 to 35 percent of total expenses on a child in a two-child, husband-wife family. For families in the middle-income group, child care/education (for those with the expense) and food were the next largest average expenditures on a child, accounting for 17 and 16 percent of child-rearing expenses, respectively.   

    

Annual expenditures on children generally increased with age of the child. This fact was the same for both husband-wife and single-parent families.   

    

Overall annual child-rearing expenses were highest for husband-wife families in the urban Northeast, followed by families in the urban West and urban Midwest; families in the urban South and rural areas had the lowest child-rearing expenses.   

    

Compared with expenditures on each child in a two-child, husband-wife family, expenditures by husband-wife households with one child average 25 percent more on the single child and expenditures by households with three or more children average 22 percent less on each child.   

    

Child-rearing expense patterns of single-parent households with a before-tax income less than $56,670 were 7 percent lower than those of husband-wife households in the same income group. Most single-parent households were in this income group (compared with about one-third of husband-wife families).   

The point is proven.  Kids are expensive.  But we knew that already, didn’t we?  Does it make a difference to you that you now posses this information?  Probably not.  Knowing these facts is not going to get you to spend less or spend more to keep up with the statistical averages.  Would you feel like an inadequate parent if you knew you spent less on your kids than other parents?  I know I spend less than this on my kids.  I also spend less than most people on myself so I’m not surprised.  We all place importance in different aspects of our children’s development.  For me it is education.  I would spend any amount of money to get my boys a quality education.  But, they are both young, and our expenses have not piled up yet.  When it comes time to take private music lessons or join a sporting league – then the expenses will grow.  For now our expenses are well below average, but that will quickly change as my priorities become more actionable.  What about you?  Do you fall within these published ranges?