It costs $31,000 more raising a kid today than in 1960

It costs $31,000 more raising a kid today than in 1960It costs $31,000 more raising a kid today than in 1960Raising a kid has never been cheap. Diapers cost money and tiny mouths need to eat. According to the United States Department of Agricultures annual breakdown of child-rearing costs, it now runs parents around $13,290 a year to raise one child ? or $233,610 all told to get them out the door to college. Thats $31,000 more than it did in 1960 when the USDA started tracking the numbers and a single kid cost about $11,883 a year. And it may explain why more Americans want to have families with three or more kids, but are still sticking with one or two.Heres the interesting thing though. While the overall cost of raising a child has skyrocketed over the past 58 years, its never been cheaper to feed, clothe, or otherwise care for a kid. Many of the highest expenses ? food, shelter, and transportation ? have either remained constant or are on the decline, consuming less of a familys b udget than they did in 1960 according to the USDA ? around 27% for lower-income and 16% for middle-class parents.But if thats the case, why is the cost still going up? And whats eating up that extra money? We took a look at the most recent numbers to see whats changed over the past 60 years, and found the results both surprising and completely expected.First, whats omitted Pregnancy and college tuitionThe most sobering reality of the USDAs annual Expenditures on Children by Families report is whats not included Expenses related to life before and after a kid enters or leaves the house. That includes prenatal care, fertility care, childbirth, and adoption and college tuition. So while it might be tempting to assume the extra $31,000 now includes the cost of giving birth ? anywhere between $5,000 and $14,000 depending on your state ? or the rising cost of tuition at a four-year public college (now $9,410 per year), it doesnt. Those expenses remain both extra and steep. The $233,610 on ly accounts for the 17 years during which a child is living under your roof.Where the money isnt going diapers, clothes, or sporting goodsPampers debuted in 1961 and cost $.10 per diaper ? or a whopping .$84 each in 2018 dollars. Today, an 84-count box of Pampers Swaddlers runs $25, or a paltry $.29 a diaper. Thanks to advances in technology and production, as well as the growth of global trade, the cost of diapers, clothing and most household incidentals, from shampoo and toothbrushes to rash cream and dishwashing soap, not to mention portable media players, sports equipment, video games, and reading materials have all fallen, according to the USDA. In 1960, the average middle-class family spent 11% of their budget on their kids clothing and shoes and 12% of everything from haircuts to baseball gloves to transistor radios. Those slices of the pie are down to 6% (clothes) and 7% (miscellaneous goods and services), and that even takes into account the rising cost of youth sports.The big three housing, food, and transportation have also decreasedSince the surveys inception, the largest bills parents have had to foot are housing, food, and transportation. Thats as true today as it was in 1960 ? all three still constitute the three highest expenditures. Except there is one big change, all three have dropped as a percentage of a familys spending. Housing prices have skyrocketed, yes, but incomes have also risen and as parents have fewer kids, they require fewer bedrooms ? and thus less expensive house or apartment. Whereas the typical family spent 31% of their income on housing 60 years ago ? that includes everything from mortgage to utilities to furniture ? today its 29% (even lower for high-income families) ? around $3,680 per child per year or $66,240 over the course of a single kids life.Meanwhile, it may not feel like it when strolling through the grocery store, but food prices have plummeted precipitously since 1960 thanks to improvements in agricultural pr oduction. Food used to eat up almost 25% of a familys budget. Today, it only accounts for an average of 18%, or between $1,620 and $2,860 per year depending on the age of the child considering that, like most expenses, the cost of raising a kid grows along with the child ? the bigger the kid, the more they eat.Finally, shuttling kids between school, soccer, and saxophone lessons gets expensive. While transportation costs related to raising kids includes car payments, insurance, and maintenance, the number tends to fluctuate based on gasoline prices. That said, its remained relatively constant as a percentage of parents income over the last five decades. In 1960, it constituted 16% of the budget in 1995, it was around $22,110 per kid today, its down only a percentage point to 15% ? between $24,750 and $49,770 for 17 years based on a familys income. So despite Americans obsession with SUVs and all the extra scheduling kids have in their lives, it hasnt made much of dent in the cost of moving kids around.The new culprits childcare education and healthcareAnd so it boils down to two big expenses driving the explosion in child-rearing costs. First, healthcare expenses continue to balloon in the United States, no less so for families as for single adults. According to the USDA data, the price of out-of-pocket medical and dental services not covered by insurance and prescription drugs has more than doubled to around 9% of a familys budget, up from 4% in 1960, and accounts for between $1,180 and $1,300 a year per kid. In addition to the fact that healthcare, in general, is more expensive behauptung days, the figure also takes into account the rise in childhood chronic illness and the growing number of kids who suffer from obesity, food allergies, asthma, and diabetes ? all of which are on the rise.And finally, it shouldnt come as any surprise to parents with kids under 4 years old, but childcare is whats busting family budgets the most. In 1960, when most mothers sta yed home to watch the kids, childcare accounted for only 2% of a households income. By 1995, that number had grown to 9% or almost $9,870 per year. Over the last 20-plus years, however, thanks to the continued growth of two-income families, childcare education ? which includes day care tuition and supplies babysitting and elementary and high school tuition, books, and supplies ? has overtaken transportation as the third highest expense at 16% of the budget, or around $38,040 over the course of a childs life. Not surprisingly, childcare expenditures are shaped by family income more so than other expenses, as wealthy families ante up for expensive daycares and schools ($86,820 for 17 years) while lower-income parents rely more on grandparents for childcare, spending only $21,240.This article first appeared on Fatherly.