Child-Rearing Cost Climbs 2.6% for 2012 Babies, U.S. Says

A middle-income family will spend $241,080 on average for 18 years to raise a child born in 2012, a 2.6 percent increase from a year ago that outpaces the broader inflation rate, according to a government report.

Housing was the largest expense at 30 percent of spending, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said yesterday in an annual report that also showed wealthier families spent triple the amount on entertainment and reading materials as poorer households. Child care was the second-biggest expense in more affluent homes, while lower-income households spent a greater proportion on food as federal nutrition aid reached records. Health costs pinched all household budgets.