It costs about $233,610 to raise a child in the United States, according to a January 2017 article in CNN Money. A middle-class married couple raising two children born in 2015 will spend approximately $233,610 on each. This information comes in a report released by the Department of Agriculture in January. The amount covers the cost of raising a child from infancy to 17 years of age. It does not include college expenses.

On average, families may spend from $12,350 to $14,000 a year to raise a child in the U.S. One of the biggest expenses in raising a child is housing; it takes up about 29% of the total cost of raising a child. The second biggest expense in the budget is food. The third largest expense on the list is child care. It costs parents an average $37,378 a year for someone to care for their child while they work. Continue reading →