Aug. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Middle-income U.S. families will spend $221,190 to raise a child born in 2008 until they become adults in 2026, according to a government estimate.
The typical two-parent family spent from $11,610 to $13,480 on each child last year, depending on age, a U.S. Department of Agriculture
study shows. Households that make less, spend less, the study found. A family earning less that $56,870 a year is likely to spend $159,970 to rear a child, while parents earning more than $98,470 may pay $366,660, according to the study.
Expenses are highest for children raised in the urban Northeast, followed by cities in the West and Midwest, the USDA said. ?Families living in the urban South and rural areas have the lowest child-rearing expenses,? the department said.
Housing costs account for the biggest portion of expenses, averaging 32 percent over 17 years, the USDA said. Food, childcare and education were the next two largest categories, averaging 16 percent each. The cost estimates don?t include college expenses.
The study provides a way for courts and government agencies to estimate child-support costs, the USDA said. The projections have been published each year since 1960, when a middle-income family?s child-rearing costs were estimated to be $25,230, or $183,509 in 2008 dollars, the USDA said.
