$342,552: The Cost of Raising a Child in DC

• August 19th 2014

by UrbanTurf Staff

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The news making young parents cringe yesterday came from the U.S. Department of Agriculture which revealed via a new report that the cost of raising a child was somewhere in the $245,000 range. The report was based on what a middle-income family would need to spend on food, housing, childcare and education, as well as other expenses, for a child up to age 18. Higher education costs were not included.

Today, another source is reporting that parents in DC will likely need to tack another $100,000 onto that number.

Personal finance website NerdWallet took the figure from the Department of Agriculture and then “adjusted it for cost of living in various cities using the cost of living index from the Council for Community and Economic Research.” The results are below.

At $342,552, the price of raising a child in DC is high, but not nearly as high as it is in places like New York ($540,514) and Honolulu ($402,112). Still, this number will no doubt start the “Should we relocate?” conversation among new parents in the city. Those looking for a cheaper child-rearing locale should try the Midwest where it will cost just south of $200,000 to raise a child in Norman, OK.

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/342552_the_cost_of_raising_a_child_in_dc/8890.