Raising your quarter-million dollar baby

Every newborn child is a bundle of joy. But you better have a bundle of cash on hand if you want to raise one.

For 2004, the newest data available, the U.S. Department of Agriculture estimates that families making $70,200 a year or more will spend a whopping $269,520 to raise a child from birth through age 17. Higher-income families in urban areas in the West spend the most, $284,460.

Though not as steep, the figures for lower-income families are just as unsettling: $184,320 for families earning $41,700 to $70,200 and $134,370 for families making less than that. That breaks down to nearly $15,000 a year from birth to age 2 for families in the $65,800 -plus income bracket. As your child ages, he or she gets even more expensive, topping out at $15,810 from ages 15 to 17. This is no back-of-the-envelope guesstimate. The survey involves visits to, and interviews with, about 5,000 households, four times a year.

Nor is there much in the way of cost-effectiveness for larger families. With an older child of 16, the USDA study says, a family with a second child under 2 lays out $20,740 for the both of them each year, with the numbers growing progressively as the children get older. With three children — the two older ones being 16 and 13 — a third child aged 2 years or less rings up an annual bill of $24,160.

 How much will your family spend?*
  Total Housing Food Trans. Clothes Health Care/school Misc.
Income                

Up to $41,700

               
0 to 2 $7,040 $2,680 $980 $820 $350 $530 $1,020 $660
3 to 5 7,210 2,650 1,090 800 340 500 1,150 680
6 to 8 7,250 2,560 1,400 930 380 580 680 720
9 to 11 7,220 2,310 1,680 1,010 420 630 410 760
12 to 14 8,070 2,580 1,770 1,130 710 640 290 950
15 to 17 8,000 2,080 1,910 1,530 630 680 480 690
Total $134,370 $44,580 $26,490 $18,660 $8,490 $10,680 $12,090 $13,380
Income                

$41,700 to $70,200

               
0 to 2 $9,840 $3,630 $1,170 $1,230 $410 $690 $1,680 $1,030
3 to 5 10,120 3,600 1,350 1,200 400 660 1,860 1,050
6 to 8 10,030 3,510 1,720 1,330 440 750 1,190 1,090
9 to 11 9,910 3,260 2,030 1,410 490 820 780 1,120
12 to 14 10,640 3,520 2,050 1,540 830 820 570 1,310
15 to 17 10,900 3,030 2,270 1,950 740 870 980 1,060
Total $184,320 $61,650 $31,770 $25,980 $9,930 $13,830 $21,180 $19,980
Income                

Over $70,200

               
0 to 2 $14,620 $5,770 $1,550 $1,720 $540 $790 $2,530 $1,720
3 to 5 14,960 5,730 1,760 1,690 530 760 2,750 1,740
6 to 8 14,710 5,640 2,120 1,820 580 870 1,900 1,780
9 to 11 14,470 5,400 2,460 1,900 630 940 1,320 1,820
12 to 14 15,270 5,660 2,580 2,030 1,040 940 1,010 2,010
 

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