Massachusetts Is The Most Expensive State To Raise A Kid In, Mississippi Cheapest

Although costs vary from family to family, two working parents spend an average of around $23,000 per year raising one child in the United States.

This graphic, via Visual Capitalist’s Bruno Venditti, illustrates the cost of raising a child by state, based on data compiled by SmartAsset as of February 2024.

Methodology

SmartAsset used the MIT Living Wage Calculator to compare the living costs of a household with two working adults and one child to those of a childless household with two working adults. Costs include expenses for food, housing, childcare, healthcare, transportation, and other necessities.

Massachusetts Tops the List

Massachusetts has the highest annual costs for raising a child, at $35,841 per year. Mississippi has the lowest annual costs, at $16,151 per year.

Rank	State	Annual cost of raising a child
1	Massachusetts	$35,841
2	Hawaii	$35,049
3	Connecticut	$32,803
4	Colorado	$30,425
5	New York	$30,247
6	California	$29,468
7	New Hampshire	$27,849
8	Washington	$27,806
9	Rhode Island	$27,630
10	Minnesota	$27,406
11	Vermont	$27,170
12	Nevada	$26,914
13	New Jersey	$26,870
14	Alaska	$26,860
15	Oregon	$26,334
16	Delaware	$25,867
17	Maine	$24,917
18	Maryland	$24,830
19	Pennsylvania	$24,820
20	Wisconsin	$24,064
21	Virginia	$24,043
22	Arizona	$24,026
23	Illinois	$23,821
24	Michigan	$23,075
25	Ohio	$22,926
26	Nebraska	$22,773
27	Iowa	$22,714
28	North Dakota	$21,645
29	Indiana	$21,584
30	North Carolina	$21,510
31	Florida	$21,384
32	Idaho	$21,214
33	Utah	$20,955
34	Montana	$20,839
35	Texas	$20,724
36	Wyoming	$20,579
37	Georgia	$20,480
38	South Carolina	$20,293
39	New Mexico	$20,060
40	Missouri	$19,995
41	West Virginia	$19,558
42	Oklahoma	$19,535
43	Tennessee	$19,525
44	Kansas	$19,494
45	South Dakota	$19,008
46	Alabama	$18,653
47	Kentucky	$18,588
48	Louisiana	$17,918
49	Arkansas	$17,424
50	Mississippi	$16,151

Regardless of the state, childcare is the highest expense, followed by additional housing and food costs.

Housing costs include expenses for shelter (e.g., mortgage payments, property taxes, rent, and insurance), utilities (gas, electricity, fuel, cellphone, and water), and household furnishings and equipment. Childcare costs include education expenses, daycare tuition, babysitting, other childcare costs, and tuition for private schools.

These expenses do not account for the cost of a college education, which can add significantly to the overall financial burden.

If you enjoyed this post, be sure to check out this graphic, which ranks the income a family needs to live comfortably in every U.S. state.