Cost of raising a child

The cost of raising a child varies widely from country to country. It is usually determined according to a formula that accounts for major areas of expenditure, such as food, housing, and clothing and opportunity costs of child care time. However, any given family's actual expenses may differ from the estimates. For example, the rent on a home does not usually change when the tenants have another child, so the family's housing costs may remain the same. In other cases, the home may be too small, in which case the family might move to a larger home at a higher cost. The amount spent raising a child tends to increase with a family's income.

Developing countries According to Globalissues.org, "Almost half the world—over three billion people—live on less than US$2.50 a day." This statistic includes children. The calculation of the cost to raise a child in developing countries is difficult, since families often do not operate with currency, but barter or trade to provide for their children.Martin Ravallion, Shaohua Chen and Prem Sangraula, Dollar a day revisited, World Bank, May 2008 It is argued that in developing areas the balance between earnings and costs of having children is changing, because the mean number of children per couple in many developing areas has decreased dramatically, especially in Asia, North Africa and the Near East. According to a 2020 report, 356 million children – 17.5 per cent – live in extreme poverty (less than US$1.90 a day).State of the World's Children, 2021, UNICEF

Argentina Argentina's INDEC provides a breakdown of minimum costs per person in household, known as the "canasta básica total", this metric doesn't measure the average cost, but the minimum cost (poverty line) and is published monthly. All values are per "equivalent adult". +Monthly values of the "canasta básica total" for Greater Buenos AiresAgeCost per month (converted to US dollars via official exchange rate)Equivalent adultless than 1$ 86.960.351$ 91.930.372$ 114.290.463$ 126.710.514$ 136.650.555$ 149.070.606$ 159.010.647$ 163.980.668$ 168.950.689$ 171.430.6910$ 196.280.7911$ 203.730.8212$ 211.180.8513$ 223.610.9014$ 238.510.9615$ 248.451.0016$ 255.901.0317$ 258.391.0418 to 29$ 253.421.02 Data for June 2022. Exchange rate 1 US dollar is 135,7500 ARG (July 2022). This aggregates to around $ 41,501.40 from birth to 18 years old.

India Based on an estimate by Economic Times in April 2011 and adjusted to inflation for August 2022, the cost of raising a child from birth to age of majority (21 Years) for a middle to upper-middle income family comes to about in total.

Cost break up is as follows: + Cost of raising a child in India (as of August, 2022) Expenditure class Estimated cost (Rs. lakh) % of costEducation 49.35 46%Housing 20.37 19%Entertainment 12.87 12%Clothing 6.44 6%Food 5.36 5%Transportation 5.36 5%Healthcare 4.29 4%Others 3.21 3% Total 117.25 100%

Note: Estimate assumes cost of birth, but doesn't consider any major illness in child.

Developed countries Canada According to the Fraser Institute, it can cost less than $4,500 per year to raise a child.https://torontosun.com/2013/08/22/canadians-can-raise-a-kid-for-less-than-4500-a-year-fraser-institute

United Kingdom Child Poverty Action Group's annual cost of a child report looks at how much it costs families to provide a minimum socially acceptable standard of living for their children. The 2022 report shows the cost of raising a child from birth to 18 years old as £157,562 for a couple family or £208,735 for a single parent/guardian.

The Times estimates that it costs £202,660 to raise a child from birth to 18 in the UK. This includes the cost of housing and childcare. This works out to an average approximate of £11,250 per year, or £938 per month.

United States Based on a survey by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the table below shows the estimated Average Spending on Children by Families. The data comes from the Consumer Expenditure Survey by the U.S. Department of Labor, conducted from 2005-06. The figures have been updated to 2011 dollars using the Consumer Price Index. However, some dispute the numbers as being biased high for political reasons (e.g., Texas A&M University Finance Professor H. Swint Friday: "The numbers, reported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture, are outrageously misleading. Often government statistics are produced for political objectives that cause the research methodology to be biased toward finding the highest dollar amount to support the objective.").

These figures from the USDA go up to age 18, and do not include any college or university education. Nor does it offer any spending estimates if the child remains in the home as a dependent after the age of 18.

Both tables are for the United States overall, not based on any specific region in the country.

+Dual-Parent Family - USDA Average Spending per Child (not the basic cost of raising) Ageof Child Housing Food Transport. Clothing Health Child Care/Education Misc. TotalBefore-tax income: Less than $59,410 (Average = $38,000)0 to 2 2,990 1,160 1,170 640 630 2,040 420 9,0503 to 5 2,990 1,260 1,230 500 590 1,910 620 9,1006 to 8 2,990 1,710 1,350 570 660 1,290 630 8,7609 to 11 2,990 1,970 1,350 580 710 1,910 630 9,52012 to 14 2,990 2,130 1,480 690 1,090 1,110 700 9,96015 to 17 2,990 2,120 1,630 730 1,010 1,290 589 9,970Total 53,820 31,050 24,630 11,130 14,070 23,640 10,740 169,080Before-tax income: $59,410 to $102,870 (Average = $79,940)0 to 2 3,920 1,405 1,690 760 850 2,860 890 12,3703 to 5 3,920 1,490 1,740 610 800 2,740 1,090 12,3906 to 8 3,920 2,100 1,860 680 940 1,680 1,110 12,2909 to 11 3,920 2,400 1,870 710 1,000 2,110 1,100 13,11012 to 14 3,920 2,580 1,990 840 1,410 1,910 1,170 13,82015 to 17 3,920 2,570 2,150 900 1,330 2,400 1,050 14,320Total 70,560 37,620 33,900 13,500 18,990 41,100 19,230 234,900Before-tax income: More than $102,870 (Average = $180,040)0 to 2 7,100 1,900 2,550 1,050 980 5,090 1,790 20,4603 to 5 7,100 2,000 2,610 880 930 4,970 1,990 20,4806 to 8 7,100 2,630 2,730 970 1,080 3,910 2,000 20,4209 to 11 7,100 2,980 2,730 1,010 1,150 4,350 2,000 21,32012 to 14 7,100 3,190 2,860 1,170 1,610 4,700 2,070 22,70015 to 17 7,100 3,180 3,020 1,280 1,520 6,460 1,950 24,510Total 127,800 47,640 49,500 19,080 21,810 88,440 35,400 389,670 All numbers are in US dollars. + Single-Parent Family - USDA Average Spending per Child (not the basic cost of raising) Ageof Child Housing Food Transport. Clothing Health Child care/Education Misc. TotalBefore-tax income: Less than 40,410 (Average = $18,350)0 to 2 2,840 1,400 680 410 520 1,400 510 7,7603 to 5 2,840 1,370 920 330 600 1,940 610 8,6106 to 8 2,840 1,830 1,030 340 670 1,940 780 8,4509 to 11 2,840 2,010 1,060 400 620 1,360 740 9,03012 to 14 2,840 2,150 1,130 420 940 1,120 840 9,44015 to 17 2,840 2,270 1,130 460 930 880 670 9,180Total 51,120 33,090 17,850 7,080 12,840 22,980 12,450 157,410Before-tax income: $59,410 or more (Average = $107,820)0 to 2 5,880 2,080 1,920 590 980 3,670 1,650 16,7703 to 5 5,880 2,070 2,160 500 1,090 4,210 1,750 17,6606 to 8 5,880 2,680 2,260 530 1,180 3,350 1,930 17,8109 to 11 5,880 3,000 2,300 610 1,110 3,880 1,880 18,66012 to 14 5,880 3,080 2,370 650 1,560 4,150 1,980 19,67015 to 17 5,880 3,220 2,370 730 1,550 5,010 1,810 20,570Total 105,840 48,390 40,140 10,830 22,410 72,810 33,000 333,420

All numbers are in US dollars.

Cost of raising a child

Bron en licentie