It costs six figures to raise a child in Idaho. This is how the state compares nationally
Children are priceless, but that’s not to say that raising them doesn’t come at a cost — and a hefty one at that.
Rising inflation and an impending recession have increased the cost of raising a child for 18 years in the United States to more than $300,000, The Wall Street Journal reported.
The figure comes from a study by the Brookings Institution, a research group in Washington, D.C., that was shared exclusively with The Wall Street Journal.
The data was calculated using expenditures associated with the cost of such food, transportation, child care, school and extracurricular activities. Also considered are health care costs and clothes — all over the course of 18 years, according to Brookings.
It’s been over five years since the cost of raising a child was last surveyed by the United States Department of Agriculture. In 2017, published data in a report titled “Expenditures on Children by Families Report” pegged the costs from birth to adulthood at $233,610 for children born in 2015.
Brookings updated the findings to account for current inflation rates, The Wall Street Journal reported.
How do the costs of raising a child in Idaho compare to the national average?
Researchers from LendingTree, an online lending marketplace, used data from the Consumer Expenditure Survey, the U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics to determine the costs in each state, including D.C.
According to LendingTree’s 2021 analysis, Idaho ranked as the 42nd most expensive state to raise a child, with an annual cost of $16,519, or $297,342 over 18 years.
Idaho was followed by Montana, North Carolina, Michigan, Georgia, West Virginia, Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, and Mississippi. Those states range from $13,596 in annual costs to $16,473.
The District of Columbia is the most expensive place to raise a child, with an annual expenditure of $28,785, or $518,000 over 18 years.
The annual expenditures are calculated based on a married, two-earner couple making the 2019 U.S. median of $77,263 in income and has one child, according to LendingTree.
