Have kids? Thinking about it? Calculate the surprise expenses.

Every few years, a new flurry of articles makes the internet rounds concerning the cost of raising a child here in the U.S. These figures often include the minimum - housing, food, clothing, transportation, and insurance premiums. They don't take into account the unavoidable and hard-to-avoid expenses that parents encounter - the ER visits, birthday parties, teacher gifts, etc. - and they don't consider that parents don't want to merely keep their children alive - parents want to give their children a life. I think we can do a better job at helping prospective parents get a more accurate picture of the costs.

Additionally, when parents try to discuss the unaffordability of kids and advocate for support, they are often met with rebuttals along the lines of, "you chose to have kids, you knew what you were getting into." Many prospective parents are unaware of the true cost of raising a child. This calculator aims to help them get closer and make better informed choices and plans.

This calculator expands on Lending Tree's latest piece.

Have kids? Thinking about it? Calculate the surprise expenses.


Cost of Raising a Child Calculator

The True(r) Cost of Raising Your Child Calculator

The items you can't or that are very difficult to avoid are already checked for you (but you can uncheck them if you'd like). The dollar amounts after each line item are national averages and are adjusted in the calculation by the Region Selector.

Total Estimated Cost of Raising Your Child: $0

Can we pick bones with this calculator?

Sure. Is it going to capture all the nuances of each family? No. Any tool like this is going to be a generalization and simplification. But the point it makes is clear - the cost of raising a child is significantly higher than we can anticipate and plan for with the information currently out there. While this tool is imperfect, it is an attempt to better inform and prepare prospective parents when deciding when or if they will have a child.

I believe parents and families need investment and support. Culturally, children are framed as solely a personal choice and they are only acknowledged as a vital economic resource when we aren't making enough of them. Vital economic resources require and are worthy of investment.

Find out who represents you both locally and nationally here, and literally just call them a lot and tell them what you want. 👉 https://ballotpedia.org/Who_represents_me

Here's a list:

✔️ Guaranteed Basic Income / Universal Basic Income
✔️ The value of our unpaid domestic labor credited to our social security
✔️ Legislation to protect parents from job gap discrimination
✔️ Ratify the Equal Rights Amendment
✔️ Paid family and medical leave
✔️ Universal childcare and early childhood education
✔️ Universal health care
✔️ Expanded tax credits, such as the Child Tax Credit
✔️ Living wage policies and increased minimum wage
✔️ Nutrition assistance: SNAP, WIC, free school meals for all students
✔️ Increased funding for public schools and special education
✔️ After-school and summer enrichment programs
✔️ Maternal health care access and equity
✔️ Medicaid expansion to cover postpartum care for a full year
✔️ Reproductive health access, including contraception and abortion services
✔️ Support for single mothers through housing, job training, and financial assistance

For press inquiries, use this contact form.

Get on the mailing list

It won't be a regular thing, but you'll get an email from me if there's relevant news.

Make this calculator better.

If you have constructive feedback about how this calculator can be improved upon, please contact me here.

 Contact me here