It’s no secret that children are expensive. Whether you’re a two parent household, or a single provider, making sure that each child gets what they need is a definite drain on any parent’s wallet.
In the US, the average cost to raise a child ranges from a little over $12K to almost $15K each year. That’s a lot of resources for someone not quite tall enough to reach the kitchen sink. Housing accounts for about 30 percent of those costs, but unless you planned on living out in the open wild, you would incur that expense anyway.
You’ll always have to pay for the roof over your head, child or not, but feeding someone else is a choice you want to make wisely. Food costs are the second highest expense when there’s a child in the home, and that’s an additional 16% per head.
In rural America, the overall cost to raise a child is a lot cheaper. Perhaps it’s due to a simpler lifestyle, or the fact that many families in rural areas grow and raise their own food. So where is the most expensive place to start a family? The urban northeast, of course. Can’t quite map it; just think New York. If you’re going rear your child in or near the Big Apple, it will cost you a whopping $18K per year.
Still want to take the leap into parenthood? Then let’s take a closer look at the cost of raising a kid in the United States.
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