Rex says
Money math without the spreadsheet headache. Plug in your numbers and I'll show you exactly where the dollars land.
Try a scenario
Click to load — tweak from there.Inputs
Result
Total cost to age 18
$441,128
First-year cost
$18,840
Current monthly cost
$1,570
Average annual cost over 18 years
$24,507
Total without inflation adjustment
$339,120
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One click, a permanent link with your numbers baked in.
How to use this
- 1Enter housing share attributable to child, per month ($).
- 2Enter food per month ($).
- 3Enter childcare/education per month ($).
- 4Enter clothing per month ($).
- 5Enter health care per month ($).
- 6Enter transportation, activities, misc per month ($).
- 7Enter annual cost growth rate (%).
- 8Read your total cost to age 18 on the right — it updates as you type.
- 9Hit Share to keep the scenario or send it to someone.
About this calculator
The USDA stopped publishing its annual 'cost of raising a child' report after 2017 (last figure: about $233,610 for a middle-income two-parent family, excluding college), but the underlying category breakdown — housing, food, childcare/education, transportation, clothing, health care, and miscellaneous — still holds up as a planning framework. This calculator lets you enter your own monthly spending per category so the estimate reflects your actual cost of living and childcare choices instead of a national average that may not match your city or income bracket, then projects it forward with an inflation adjustment.
Worked example
Using the values the calculator loads with:
Inputs
- Housing share attributable to child, per month: 350 $
- Food per month: 300 $
- Childcare/education per month: 500 $
- Clothing per month: 70 $
- Health care per month: 150 $
- Transportation, activities, misc per month: 200 $
- Annual cost growth rate: 3 %
Results
- Total cost to age 18: $441,128
- First-year cost: $18,840
- Current monthly cost: $1,570
- Average annual cost over 18 years: $24,507
- Total without inflation adjustment: $339,120
What each field means
Inputs
- Housing share attributable to child, per month ($)
- The housing share attributable to child, per month used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 350 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Food per month ($)
- The food per month used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 300 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Childcare/education per month ($)
- The childcare/education per month used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 500 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Clothing per month ($)
- The clothing per month used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 70 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Health care per month ($)
- The health care per month used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 150 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Transportation, activities, misc per month ($)
- The transportation, activities, misc per month used in the calculation, measured in $. Starts at 200 $ so you have a working example on load.
- Annual cost growth rate (%)
- The annual cost growth rate used in the calculation, measured in %. Starts at 3 % so you have a working example on load. Accepted range: 0–8 %.
Results
- Total cost to age 18
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars and shown as the headline result. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- First-year cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Current monthly cost
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Average annual cost over 18 years
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
- Total without inflation adjustment
- Returned as a money amount in US dollars. It recalculates instantly whenever you change an input, so you can compare scenarios without reloading.
FAQ
Does this include college?
No, this stops at age 18 like the USDA methodology it's based on. Use a 529 savings target calculator separately for higher education costs, which can add $100,000-250,000+ depending on the school type.
Why do costs change so much by age?
Childcare dominates spending in the early years (often $10,000-20,000/year for infant daycare), then drops once kids enter public school, before food and activities costs climb again in the teen years. This calculator uses a flat annual figure for simplicity — for more precision, run it separately for the 0-5, 6-12, and 13-18 stages.
How accurate is the national average for my area?
Not very — the USDA's last estimate varied by over $100,000 between the least and most expensive urban regions. That's exactly why this calculator asks for your own numbers instead of just displaying a fixed average.
Accuracy and 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.
Related tools
Cite this calculator
Writing about this topic? Grab a citation — every link helps keep these tools free.
RevenueLab. (2026). Cost of Raising a Child to 18 Calculator. Retrieved from https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cost-of-raising-a-child
<p>Source: <a href="https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cost-of-raising-a-child" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Cost of Raising a Child to 18 Calculator — RevenueLab</a> (2026).</p>
Source: [Cost of Raising a Child to 18 Calculator — RevenueLab](https://www.revenuelab.fyi/toolbox/cost-of-raising-a-child) (2026).