{
  "slug": "field-trip-cost-per-child",
  "title": "Field Trip Cost Per Child Calculator",
  "heading": "Field Trip Cost Per Child Calculator",
  "category": "financial",
  "url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/field-trip-cost-per-child",
  "summary": "Price a field trip correctly by counting admission, transportation, and staffing.",
  "description": "Field trips get priced off the admission ticket price alone far too often, which is why they quietly lose money once transportation and required chaperone ratios are added in. This calculator sums per-child admission cost, bus or van rental, and the cost of extra staff or chaperones needed to meet a stricter off-site ratio (which is often tighter than the classroom ratio), then divides by the number of children attending to get a true cost per child. It compares that to what you're charging families (if anything) to show the subsidy per child the center or school is absorbing, and computes the minimum group size needed to hit a target cost-per-child if you're deciding whether a trip is viable at your current enrollment.",
  "formula": "Total trip cost = (admission × children) + transportation cost + (extra staff × staff day rate); cost per child = total trip cost ÷ children.",
  "dateModified": "2026-09-30",
  "run_url": "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/api/public/calc?tool=field-trip-cost-per-child",
  "inputs": [
    {
      "id": "children",
      "label": "Children attending",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 28,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "admissionPerChild",
      "label": "Admission cost per child",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 12,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "transportCost",
      "label": "Bus/van rental for the trip",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 350,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "offsiteRatio",
      "label": "Required off-site ratio",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 6,
      "unit": null,
      "min": 1,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "staffDayRate",
      "label": "Staff/chaperone day rate",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 150,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    },
    {
      "id": "chargeFamily",
      "label": "Amount charged per family (0 if free)",
      "kind": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "default": 15,
      "unit": "$",
      "min": 0,
      "max": null
    }
  ],
  "outputs": [
    {
      "id": "costPerChild",
      "label": "True cost per child",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": true
    },
    {
      "id": "totalCost",
      "label": "Total trip cost",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "subsidyPerChild",
      "label": "Subsidy per child vs. amount charged",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "totalSubsidy",
      "label": "Total trip subsidy",
      "format": "currency",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    },
    {
      "id": "staffNeeded",
      "label": "Chaperones/staff required",
      "format": "number",
      "hint": null,
      "primary": false
    }
  ],
  "worked_example": {
    "inputs": [
      "Children attending: 28",
      "Admission cost per child: 12 $",
      "Bus/van rental for the trip: 350 $",
      "Required off-site ratio: 6",
      "Staff/chaperone day rate: 150 $",
      "Amount charged per family (0 if free): 15 $"
    ],
    "outputs": [
      "True cost per child: $51.29",
      "Total trip cost: $1,436",
      "Subsidy per child vs. amount charged: $36.29",
      "Total trip subsidy: $1,016",
      "Chaperones/staff required: 5"
    ]
  },
  "how_to": {
    "title": "How to use this",
    "steps": [
      "Enter children attending.",
      "Enter admission cost per child ($).",
      "Enter bus/van rental for the trip ($).",
      "Enter required off-site ratio.",
      "Enter staff/chaperone day rate ($).",
      "Enter amount charged per family (0 if free) ($).",
      "Read your true cost per child on the right — it updates as you type.",
      "Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone."
    ]
  },
  "scenarios": [
    {
      "name": "Conservative",
      "description": "Lower-end numbers — what if things land soft?",
      "values": {
        "children": 17,
        "admissionPerChild": 7,
        "transportCost": 210,
        "offsiteRatio": 4,
        "staffDayRate": 90,
        "chargeFamily": 9
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Typical",
      "description": "Defaults — the most common real-world setup.",
      "values": {
        "children": 28,
        "admissionPerChild": 12,
        "transportCost": 350,
        "offsiteRatio": 6,
        "staffDayRate": 150,
        "chargeFamily": 15
      }
    },
    {
      "name": "Ambitious",
      "description": "Higher-end numbers — what if things really pop?",
      "values": {
        "children": 45,
        "admissionPerChild": 19,
        "transportCost": 560,
        "offsiteRatio": 10,
        "staffDayRate": 240,
        "chargeFamily": 24
      }
    }
  ],
  "limitations": [
    "Results are estimates before tax, fees, and inflation unless an input explicitly covers them.",
    "Rates are treated as fixed for the whole period — variable-rate products will drift from this projection.",
    "This is educational maths, not financial advice. Check anything contractual with the lender or your accountant."
  ],
  "faq": [
    {
      "q": "Why is the off-site ratio often tighter than the classroom ratio?",
      "a": "Many states and most center policies require a lower child-to-adult ratio off-site than in the classroom, because supervision risk (traffic, crowds, getting separated) is higher outside a controlled facility. Check your own policy and state guidance rather than assuming your normal classroom ratio applies on a field trip."
    },
    {
      "q": "Should the center ever fully subsidize a field trip?",
      "a": "That's a values and marketing decision, not just a financial one — some programs treat field trips as part of the enrichment value baked into tuition and intentionally don't itemize a charge. This calculator just makes the size of that subsidy visible so it's a deliberate choice rather than an unplanned budget hit discovered later."
    },
    {
      "q": "How do I find the minimum group size to make a trip affordable?",
      "a": "Increase the children input until cost per child drops to your target price point — transportation and staffing costs are largely fixed regardless of group size within a bus's capacity, so they spread thinner as more children attend, up until you need a second bus or additional chaperone tier."
    },
    {
      "q": "Does this include the classroom's regular staff who'd be paid anyway?",
      "a": "No — enter only the marginal chaperone cost beyond staff who are already scheduled and paid regardless of the trip. If you're pulling in extra help specifically for the trip (a substitute to cover the classroom, or additional paid chaperones), that's what belongs in the staff day rate input."
    }
  ],
  "related": [
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/camp-session-margin",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/daycare-bus-route-cost-per-rider",
    "https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/extended-care-margin"
  ],
  "license": "CC-BY-4.0",
  "citation": "RevenueLab — Field Trip Cost Per Child Calculator (https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/field-trip-cost-per-child)"
}