What’s the cost of raising a child in major US metros?
UNITED STATES, JUL 21 – Annual child raising costs vary widely across U.S. metros in 2025, with Boston topping nearly $40,000 and Washington, DC seeing a 15% decrease, SmartAsset reports.
- SmartAsset and Stacker provided a detailed regional analysis for 2025 on the yearly expenses involved in raising a child across major US metropolitan areas.
- SmartAsset analyzed cost differences between households with children and those without across 48 major metropolitan areas, utilizing data from the MIT Living Wage Calculator to track changes in expenses from 2024 to 2025.
- Costs vary widely, with Boston metro as the most expensive at $39,221 and Birmingham, AL as the least expensive; some metros saw increases over 20%, while others decreased.
- Key figures include a nationwide average of $24,317 in 2025, with childcare costs averaging $13,230, and notable one-year changes like a 15% drop in Washington, DC and a 20% rise in St. Louis.
- These variations suggest regional economic factors strongly influence child-raising costs, affecting family budgeting and possibly migration or policy focus in more expensive areas.
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What’s the cost of raising a child in major US metros? | News Channel 3-12
2p2play // Shutterstock What’s the cost of raising a child in major US metros? Common costs associated with raising a child — such as childcare, additional food, medical costs, housing and more — can add up to tens of thousands of dollars per year. This makes raising a child a relatively expensive line-item anywhere, but in some metro areas these costs can be double those in others, sometimes reaching nearly $40,000 per year. What’s more, the co…

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What’s the cost of raising a child in major US metros?
SmartAsset reports that the cost of raising a child varies significantly across U.S.
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Leaning Left3Leaning Right0Center31Last UpdatedBias Distribution91% Center
Bias Distribution
- 91% of the sources are Center
91% Center
C 91%
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