The price tag that comes with raising a child is unquestionably high. That toll, though, continues to rise.
LendingTree analyzed the cost of raising a child over 18 years and found the new national average to be $303,418, up 1.9% from the company’s report the year prior.
Here’s what to know about LendingTree’s methodology and what else the company’s report found.
LendingTree’s Methodology
To determine the cost of raising a child, LendingTree looked at a mix of child-specific expenses, such as day care, and regular household expenses that child-rearing can affect, including rent.
LendingTree said it mostly pulled data from 2024 because that was what was available; however, some national food and day care data are more recent.
Here is a breakdown of the categories LendingTree included:
- Rent: LendingTree looked at the average rent paid by households without children and those with children under 18.
- Food: To assess food costs, LendingTree looked at the difference in food spending between a two-person household and a two-person household with a child.
- Day care: LendingTree looked at the annual cost of full-time, center-based childcare for one infant to determine its national average.
- Apparel: The company looked at the average amount married couples with children spend on girls’ apparel between the ages of 2 and 15.
- Transportation: LendingTree looked at the difference in typical transportation spending between a two-person household and a two-person household with a child.
- Health insurance premiums: The company looked at the annual premium cost for a single person on workplace insurance (doubling it for two adults) and compared it to a single workplace-based family plan.
- State tax exemptions or credits: For its analysis, LendingTree assumed the two parents filing jointly earn the national median income.
The ‘Barebones Costs’ of Raising a Child
Here is a breakdown of the barebones costs of raising a child in LendingTree’s 2026 report, as well as the percent change from the company’s 2025 report for comparison:
- Rent: $1,680 (48.9% increase)
- Food: $4,208 (0.2% decrease)
- Infant day care: $17,264 (3.2% decrease)
- Girls’ apparel: $313 (26.7% increase)
- Transportation: $4,422 (0.9% increase)
- Insurance premiums: $3,638 (0.8% increase)
- Value of federal tax credit: -$2,200 (10.0% increase)
- Annual cost for first 5 years: $29,325 (0.3% decrease)
- Annual cost for next 13 years: $12,061 (4.1% increase)
- Average annual cost over 18 years: $16,857 (1.9% increase)
- Total cost over 18 years: $303,418 (1.9% increase)
In most cases, the numbers above show a dramatic slowdown in the cost of raising a child, according to LendingTree.
However, “even with that slowdown, the overall 18-year cost of raising a child has risen 27.8% between our 2023 and 2026 reports that mostly assessed 2021 and 2024 data, and the annual cost for the first five years has increased by 35.3%,” LendingTree said.
States Where It Costs the Most (and Least) to Raise a Child
Hawaii is by far the most expensive state to raise a child to adulthood, with a projected cost of $412,661.
Hawaii’s total projected cost is “nearly $50,000 more than the next most expensive state (Alaska at $365,047) and more than $85,000 more than the third-most expensive state, Maryland, at $326,360,” LendingTree said.
Here is a list of the 10 most expensive states to raise a child to the age of 18, estimated total cost, and their rankings:
- Hawaii: $412,661 (#1)
- Alaska: $365,047 (#2)
- Maryland: $326,360 (#3)
- California: $312,300 (#4)
- New Jersey: $312,295 (#5)
- Kansas: $303,250 (#6)
- Washington: $297,341 (#7)
- Arizona: $294,982 (#8)
- Nebraska: $294,926 (#9)
- Montana: $293,926 (#10)
Conversely, states where costs are cheapest to raise a child include:
- New Hampshire: $201,963 (#51)
- District of Columbia: $202,115 (#50)
- South Carolina: $204,213 (#49)
- Mississippi: $208,621 (#48)
- Alabama: $212,121 (#47)
Where Raising a Small Child Costs the Most
Parents in Hawaii face the highest costs of raising a small child, averaging $40,342 per year for a child’s first five years, according to LendingTree. The state is followed by Maryland and Massachusetts, with averages of $36,419 and $34,247, respectively, for the first five years.
Here is a list of the 10 most expensive states to raise a small child, averages annually for the cost of a child’s first five years, and their rankings:
- Hawaii: $40,342 (#1)
- Maryland: $36,419 (#2)
- Massachusetts: $34,247 (#3)
- California: $33,692 (#4)
- New Jersey: $31,948 (#5)
- Washington: $31,937 (#6)
- Colorado: $31,000 (#7)
- New York: $30,209 (#8)
- District of Columbia: $30,146 (#9)
- Connecticut: $29,674 (#10)
“Among the 10 states with the highest costs of raising a small child, only Colorado — ranking seventh at $31,000 annually — isn’t on the coast,” LendingTree noted.
On the other hand, the annual costs for raising a small child are lowest in the South.
“Mississippi ($17,148) and Alabama ($18,019) have the lowest costs in the analyzed period,” LendingTree said. “South Dakota ($18,622), the only non-Southern state among the seven lowest-cost states, ranks third.”
Notably, all three of the cheapest states to raise a small child have daycare costs below $10,000 annually, “a key reason they rank among the most affordable states to raise a child,” according to LendingTree.
What Else LendingTree’s Analysis Found
A total of 14 states saw the annual cost of raising a small child rise by at least 10%, including four where the growth was 20% or more, according to LendingTree.
Overall, annual costs rose in 39 states and in the District of Columbia.
“Nebraska (27.4%), Montana (24.5%), Maine (24.4%) and Wisconsin (23.3%) all saw significant year-over-year growth in the annual cost of raising a small kid,” LendingTree said.
In six states, families raising children over an 18-year span are predicted to spend more than $300,000 raising a single child.
Reporting by Daniella Segura, USA TODAY NETWORK / Palm Springs Desert Sun. USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect.
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