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Cost of raising a child calculator

Raise a child to 18, 22 or a master’s, with each country’s schools, fees and benefits.

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Picking a style fills in every stage below; then change any of them.

How each stage is raised

After-school care, sports, clubs and lessons. “Average” is the America After 3PM 2025 mean ($1,788 a year on sports and classes); “heavy” adds paid after-school care ($124 a week); the high-school level is an estimate.

* = estimate (no official average).

Other settings

The rest is covered by the child’s scholarships, loans or work and is not counted here.

Local customs

Total cost of raising a child

$427,029

From birth to age 22, in today’s money

Per year

$19.4K

Per month

$1.6K

Total by the age you raise to

To 18

$333.6K

To 22

$427K

To 24

$468.2K

Some items are estimates (no official average) and are marked “*”; read the result as a range.

All amounts are in today’s money, with no inflation or investment return; fees and benefits can change.

Where the money goes
Everyday living$325,600
Tuition & child care$108,817
Lessons & tutoring$21,456
Birth & customs$8,556
Government benefits-$37,400

Everyday living is a share of food, clothing, housing, transport and health care. It excludes tuition, child care and lessons.

Cost by stage
StageYearsSubtotal
Infant care3$79,488
Preschool3$75,537
Elementary6$88,212
Middle school3$44,106
High school3$46,306
College4$93,380
Sources and notes

Living costs: USDA Expenditures on Children by Families (2015 data, CPI-adjusted estimate); child care: Child Care Aware of America 2025; private school tuition: NCES (2020–21); college: College Board 2025–26 (in-state public $11,950, out-of-state $31,880, private $45,000 tuition and fees; room and board $13,900/$15,920); net tuition after grants: College Board; childbirth out-of-pocket: Peterson-KFF 2025; Child Tax Credit: IRS. Graduate tuition, the heavy after-school level and high-school extras are estimates.

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How to use it

  1. It uses the US school system and benefits. Pick a style: frugal, typical or lavish. Every stage is filled in at once.
  2. Pick how long you raise the child: to 18 (high school), 22 (college) or a master’s degree.
  3. Adjust each stage: child care and preschool, public or private schools with lessons and tutoring, and college type, living away and studying abroad where it applies.
  4. After 18 you can tick living away from home and set the share of tuition you pay. You can also choose whether to subtract government benefits and whether to count local customs such as birthday parties.

The top number is the total, followed by the average per year and per month and the totals for all three end points (18, 22, master’s) so you can see what four more years of college or two more of graduate school add. Below that is where the money goes and a subtotal for each stage.

How it is calculated

Each year costs everyday living (or the away-from-home cost) + the tuition or child care of that stage + lessons and tutoring + one-off costs (birth, customs) − government benefits, summed from birth to the age you picked, in today’s money.

  • Everyday living: food, clothing, housing, transport and health care, without tuition, child care or lessons. US figures come from the USDA report (2015 data, CPI-adjusted); Japan’s are derived from a 2024 national survey; Taiwan has no official breakdown so the three levels are private estimates.
  • Tuition and child care: official stage figures, such as College Board prices in the US and MEXT’s survey in Japan.
  • Studying abroad: one yearly figure covers tuition and living, so home living costs are not added.
  • Parents’ share: applied to college and master’s tuition only. Defaults are 100% in Taiwan, 51% in Japan (JASSO) and 50% in the US (Sallie Mae).

Example: the US, typical style, to age 22, with paid family child care, public schools with average activities, an in-state public college, living at home and the Child Tax Credit subtracted comes to about $427,000, or roughly $1,600 a month.

Notes

  • No inflation, and no special-needs or major medical costs.
  • Items marked “est.” have no official average and vary a lot by region and family.
  • Japan’s learning-cost survey was corrected in January 2026; the corrected figures are used here.

FAQ

How much does it cost to raise a child?

There is no single number; it depends on how you raise them. With this tool’s defaults, a typical US path to age 22 comes to about $430,000 (public school, in-state public college, average activities, minus the Child Tax Credit), a frugal one about $260,000 and a lavish one about $825,000. Japan and Taiwan have different school systems, so the numbers are not directly comparable.

What do frugal, typical and lavish change?

Each style sets every stage at once and the yearly everyday living cost. Frugal is parents at home, public schools and no tutoring; typical is paid child care, public schools and average activities; lavish is a nanny or center, private schools, heavy activities and a private college. After that you can change any stage yourself.

Why does each country have its own settings?

The schools, fees and customs differ: US college sticker prices and student loans, Japanese juku and entrance exams, Taiwanese cram schools. Who pays also differs; in the US parents cover about half of college costs and in Japan about half of students’ income comes from family. Each country uses its own official figures instead of just converting currency.

How accurate are the numbers?

Where an official figure exists (tuition, kindergarten fee caps, benefits, USDA and College Board in the US, Japan’s MEXT learning-cost survey) it is used directly. Where none exists (private kindergarten, nannies, tutoring, master’s fees, postpartum care, study abroad) the item is marked “est.” and comes from private sources, so read the result as a range.

Is inflation included?

No. Every figure is in today’s money. Fees and benefits change every year, so compare options with the “total by age” row rather than relying on one number.

How are benefits counted?

By default local benefits are subtracted: the Child Tax Credit in the US (up to $2,200 a year), child allowance and the ¥500,000 birth lump sum in Japan, and the childcare allowance in Taiwan (NT$5,000 a month). They assume a first child and eligibility, and rules change; untick the box to leave them out.

Sources

Last updated：

Results are for reference only. Check official sources for exact figures.

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