What It Actually Costs
to Raise a Kid
Not the USDA number from 2015. YOUR number, for YOUR kid, at YOUR age, in YOUR city. Drag the slider and watch.
Where the money goes at age 0
The numbers nobody tells you
For families who pay for it, childcare is usually the single biggest cost from ages 0-5: Care.com's 2026 report puts daycare at about $332 a week.[4] Then it drops to zero when school starts. That's not a gradual decrease. It's a cliff. The monthly cost of raising a 4-year-old can be double the cost of raising an 8-year-old. Plan for it, but know it ends.
USDA's thrifty food plan, its lowest-cost budget, puts groceries for a 2- to 3-year-old at about $167 a month and for a 14- to 19-year-old boy at about $316 (December 2025).[3] They eat constantly. Growth spurts are real. Budget for this or it sneaks up on your grocery bill.
Car insurance for a teen driver: adding a 16-year-old is one of the biggest premium jumps most families see. Get quotes a year ahead. Gas money. Phone plan. The monthly cost at 16 can rival the daycare years. Plan for it starting at 14 so it's not a shock.
The commonly cited $310,000 figure (Brookings' 2022 inflation update of USDA's estimate for a middle-income, married couple raising a child born in 2015 to age 17[1][2]) is an average across all income levels and all regions. A two-income family in Raleigh with one kid in family daycare spends very differently than a single parent in San Francisco with two kids in a daycare center. YOUR number is what matters. That's why the calculator above exists.
What I actually spent: Year 1 through Year 4
These are real numbers from my family. Two kids. Raleigh, NC. One parent worked full time, one worked part time from home. In-home daycare for 3 days/week.
Delivery: $3,200 (after insurance hit OOP max)
Daycare (3 days/wk): $900/mo = $10,800
Gear (stroller, crib, car seat, etc.): $2,100
Diapers + wipes: $85/mo = $1,020
Formula (supplemented): $60/mo = $720
Clothes (mostly used): $40/mo = $480
Medical copays: $50/mo = $600
Everything else: $300/mo = $3,600
Daycare: still $900/mo = $10,800
Food (eating real food now): $120/mo = $1,440
Diapers: $70/mo = $840
No formula. No delivery costs. No big gear purchases.
Activities started: swim lessons $80/mo
Everything else: $250/mo = $3,000
Preschool (3 days/wk): $800/mo = $9,600
Food: $140/mo = $1,680
Potty training = diapers ended (finally)
Activities: soccer + swim = $160/mo = $1,920
Clothes (growing fast): $60/mo = $720
Everything else: $190/mo = $2,280
Pre-K (public, free): $0
After-school care: $400/mo = $4,800
Food (eating like a trucker): $180/mo = $2,160
Activities: soccer + art + swim = $240/mo = $2,880
Clothes: $60/mo = $720
Birthday parties (theirs + attending others): $600
Everything else: $300/mo = $3,600
Total years 1-4: $71,000. That's about $1,480/month averaged out. The big drop from year 1 to year 4 was childcare costs decreasing as we shifted to part-time then free pre-K. Your numbers will be different. Use the calculator above with your real inputs.
Tools to manage these costs
References
- USDA Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, Expenditures on Children by Families, 2015 (published 2017): $233,610 for a child born in 2015, middle-income married couple, through age 17. fns.usda.gov/research/cnpp/expenditures-children-families
- Axios, "The cost of raising a child" (Aug. 19, 2022), reporting Brookings' updated estimate of $310,605. axios.com/2022/08/19/child-care-costs-inflation-parents
- USDA, Official USDA Thrifty Food Plan: U.S. Average, December 2025. fns-prod.azureedge.us/sites/default/files/resource-files/cnpp-costfood-tfp-dec2025.pdf
- Care.com, 2026 Cost of Care Report. care.com/c/how-much-does-child-care-cost/
