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Raising that '07 baby will cost $204,060 in U.S.
Middle-income families can expect to spend $204,060 on feeding, housing and
schooling a child born in 2007 until his
or her 18th birthday, the U.S.
government reported on Monday.
Middle-income families can expect to spend $204,060 on
feeding, housing and schooling a child born in 2007 until his or her 18th
birthday, the US government reported on Monday.
Child care and education costs will represent a larger share of costs for
raising the '07 baby through adulthood than they have in the past, the
Agriculture Department said in an annual study on child-rearing costs.
"The cost of providing food decreased from 24 percent to 17 percent of
total child-rearing costs, while child care and education expenses increased
from 2 percent to 12 percent," the department said.
Housing will be the single largest cost for U.S. families -- making up 33
to 27 percent of total expenses across income groups, USDA said.
Factoring in inflation, the grand total for middle-income families comes to
$269,040, USDA said. Total costs also include transportation, health care, and
other necessities.
Child-rearing costs have soared since USDA began conducting its annual
study in 1960, and can vary dramatically according to a family's income.
Families making less than $45,800 before taxes can expect to spend less,
$148,320 in real terms over the course of their child's first 17 years. Those on
the other end of the income spectrum, making more than $77,100 a year, will
spend $298,680 in 2007 dollars on raising their '07 child.
Even though the study does not include the cost of college, USDA found that
children get more expensive as they get older. Teenagers were the most costly.
The department also noted that child-rearing costs are the greatest in the
urban West, and lowest in the urban Midwest and rural areas across the
country.(Agencies)
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