The average cost of raising a child from birth to age 17 has increased by 16% since 1960 — when data was first collected. In 1960, the average total expenditures on a child in a middle-income, married-couple family was $202,020, adjusted for inflation. By 2015 — the latest data available on child-rearing costs — these estimated expenditures increased to $233,610.
But childbirth costs alone have steadily increased over the last two decades. In 2019 — the most recent data available — hospitals in the US charged[1] patients an average of $22,876 for birthing procedures. That is more than three times what was charged in 2000 ($6,340), according to data from The Department of Health and Human services. While this is what a hospital bills for the stay, how much of that is paid by the family depends on what kind of insurance they have, among other factors.
