Planning a baby? The cost of raising a child in the US has reached $303,418 — and that's before college

Only a few decades ago, raising a child was considered an everyday part of life. It wasn't a decision that couples had to spend months debating and saving for. Today, however, the world has changed. An April 6 report by LendingTree stated that the cost of raising a child over 18 years has increased to more than $300,000 for the first time. Maybe that’s why more than 43% of Americans prefer having cats over kids. Cats don’t go to college after all.

Based on data from multiple reports 

For the 2026 study, LendingTree tapped into data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as from a variety of other government, nonprofit, and academic sources. They included factors like household maintenance costs, food, infant day care, apparel, transportation, insurance, and costs segregated into age bands of 5, 13, and 18 years of age.

Analysis revealed that the average cost of raising a child in the US from birth till age 18 has jumped to $303,418 from $297,674, which was last year's figure. The calculation is based on the typical expenses for a couple earning the U.S. median family income, about $100,000, accounting for tax exemptions and credits. The figure marks a year-over-year increase of 1.9% and roughly a 27.8% hike over the past three years. The annual cost per child averaged to about $16,857.

Parents in Hawaii are struggling

Three states where the costs saw the highest jump, more than 20% from a year earlier, were Alaska, Kansas, and Montana. Hawaii topped the list, followed by Maryland and Massachusetts. “Parents in Hawaii face the highest costs, averaging $40,342 per year for those first five years,” researchers noted. “Maryland and Massachusetts are closest, at $36,419 and $34,247, respectively.” California ranked 4th, New York ranked 8th, Florida came in at 27th, and Texas ranked 45th. The lowest jump was found in South Mississippi, Alabama, and South Dakota. These three states showed infant day care costs below $10,000 annually, which is why they are among the most affordable states to raise a child.

Purse strings are getting tighter

Pummeled by the crushing costs of raising a child, over 77% of people believe that it is harder to raise a family today than it was for previous generations, according to a February 2026 poll conducted by CBS News. Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s chief consumer finance analyst, remarked that the newly revealed cost of raising a child puts tremendous strain on Americans’ budgets. The company estimates that a family might have to shell out more than a fifth of its income to raise a child till age 18. The overall cost of raising a child would now be equal to the median sales price of a home in the U.S., around $356,000 as of January 31, per the Zillow Home Value Index.

The good news

While the overall child-rearing cost is now higher than a Lamborghini, the expenditure during a kid's first five years has decreased from $29,419 to $29,325 (or 0.3%), likely due to the drop in the daycare price tag. In the states that rank lowest in this price surge — Mississippi ($17,148), Alabama ($18,019), and South Dakota ($18,622) — daycare costs less than $10,000 annually. Following the survey, LendingTree advises families to start saving as soon as possible, to take advantage of the government policies to knock down debts, and to remember that expensive isn’t always better.

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