Raising a child seems to cost more every year.
Daycare expenses, medical care, housing, and food keep going up, and that’s true just about anywhere you live. In some states, though, the disparity is more extreme than in others — and surprisingly, it doesn’t completely coincide with overall higher living costs, either.
Is your state one of the most expensive in which to raise a child? Check out the list below.
#1: Massachusetts
According to recent numbers, the Bay State is the most expensive state to raise a child. SmartAsset finds that it costs around $36k per year to raise one child in Massachusetts, with about $21.5k of that going to childcare. That’s about $13k more than the median for the U.S. ($22,850 per year).
Notably, this offsets the fact that Massachusetts isn’t the most expensive state for some other costs. For instance, the average cost to the parents for medical care for a child is estimated to be around $2,347, while in the cheapest overall state for raising a child (Mississippi, where the average annual cost is estimated at $16k per year — less than half the cost of Massachusetts), a parent can expect to shell out hundreds more ($2,932) for medical care.
Thus, Massachusetts is the most expensive state in which to raise a child, but it might not feel that way to parents who don’t have to pay for childcare,
#2: Hawaii
According to VisualCapitalist, Hawaii has the highest overall cost of living, so it’s no surprise that it ranks high on the list of the most expensive places to raise a child. The average annual cost is estimated at $35,049.
The biggest expense in Hawaii will still be childcare, at nearly $20k per year, but housing stands out most in Hawaii. Here, you can expect housing to cost an extra $6,188 per month if you’re raising a child. No other state compares in that regard.
If you’re raising a child in Hawaii, you can also expect to spend around an extra $3,300 for transportation costs over a year, and around $2,481 for food costs. That also makes it the most expensive state for providing your child with food.
#3: Connecticut
It’s called the Constitution State, but the cost of raising a child here would upset anyone’s constitution. The average estimated cost is $32,803 annually.
That includes $19,554 in childcare, $2,060 in medical costs, and one of the highest housing costs in the contiguous U.S., housing a child costing around $4,139 per year on average.
Connecticut also ranks high in the overall cost of living, but it’s parenting that’s especially expensive here since it ranks only number 9 in the overall cost of living and number 3 for raising a child.
#4: Colorado
Colorful Colorado is the fourth most expensive state to raise a child in. Parents spend about $30,425 annually to raise a child to adulthood.
Colorado is nearly tied with Connecticut for housing a child, running just a few dollars more expensive with an average cost of $4,166 per year. Medical costs remain high, with an average of $2,329 annually, and transportation for your child will run around $2,905 in the mountainous state.
However, the cost of childcare drops sharply here—it only averages 16,620 per year, or a little more than 75% of what Massachussetts parents are shelling out.
#5: New York
In the state of New York, raising a child on average costs around $30,247 annually.
New York is the perfect state for a reminder that these average costs run across the state and that some (like housing and childcare) can be much higher in cities and lower in more rural areas. In fact, 5Boro reported earlier this year that childcare in New York City is so expensive that families are leaving since 80% can’t afford it, and the city is losing tens of billions of dollars in revenue as a result.
In the state as a whole, the average cost of childcare is $17,821 per year — far less than the $4k per month some families reportedly pay in NYC.
Families will also pay an average of $3,543 per year in housing for their child and just under $2.5k each for transportation and medical payments.
#6: California
California is the third most expensive state to live in but the 6th most expensive to raise a child. The total annual cost of raising a small child is, on average, about $29,468.
The cost of childcare is a clear reason that the Golden State falls a bit lower in terms of child costs than general living costs. The average family pays only around $14,433 per year for childcare.
Housing costs are higher, though, with the additional housing needed to raise a child running an average of $5,573 annually. Transportation is also high at around $3,205 per year on average.
#7: New Hampshire
New Hampshire’s motto might be “Live free or die,” but raising a child is far from free in the state, where parents will spend an average of $27,849 per year.
Here, too, childcare costs are on the (very) low end of the spectrum, with parents paying an average of only $13,461 per year, but housing, medical, and transportation costs are high.
On average, housing a child in New Hampshire costs around $4,656 per year, transportation costs about $3,287, and medical costs exceed $2,500.
For a state that doesn’t even make the top ten in overall cost of living expenses, that’s significant.
#8: Washington
When historian C.T. Conover labeled Washington the Evergreen State, he talked about forests, not how much green parents would shell out to raise a kid. Just the same, the state is the eighth most expensive both in cost of living and cost of raising a child, which will run families about $27,806 per year.
Housing (an average of $4,047 in additional costs for one child) and transportation (an average of $2,987) are significant expenses here.
It’s still one of the cheaper states for childcare (average $15,463 annually), particularly for medical costs. On average, a family only spends around $1,287 in Washington for children’s medical care.
#9: Rhode Island
Rhode Island is another state that doesn’t make the top ten list of highest overall cost of living states, but ranks high in cost of raising a child. A family will spend around $27,630 annually to meet a small child’s needs.
Childcare will only run an average of $14,498 annually, but other necessities remain high. The average Rhode Island child’s medical needs will cost the parents around $2,486 out of pocket, and increasing housing to accommodate one child will cost an average of $3,753 per year.
Transportation costs also run high, at an average of $2,896 to meet one child’s needs for a year.
#10: Minnesota
Raising a small child in the North Star State will run parents north of $27k per year.
When Macaroni Kid divided states into categories by the cost of raising a child, the analysts placed the bar for “high cost” states at $27,406 and above. Minnesota is exactly at the cutoff, making it the tenth most expensive state to raise a child and the last state in the most expensive category.
Here, you can expect to spend more than $3k extra each on housing and transportation when you add a child to your family, although the average cost of childcare isn’t as high as some of the other states that made the list, at $15,722 annually. Medical care also doesn’t break the bank quite so strongly as some of these states — an average Minnesotan spends about $1,567 per yearon their child’s health needs.
#11: Vermont
The Green Mountain State’s name comes from the French phrase meaning “the green mountains,” and it’s another state where “green” could have a double meaning, at least for parents. Here, the average cost of raising a child is about $27,170 per year.
Eleventh in cost of child-raising, Vermont is also the eleventh most expensive state for additional housing for a child ($3,718) and the 12th most expensive for childcare, at an average of $13,956 per year. It’s the fourth most expensive state for feeding a child, with average costs at $2,183 annually.
Vermont passed legislation last year expanding childcare subsidies, so a larger number of parents have access to assistance in covering that cost, according to VTDigger.
#12: Nevada
Nevada parents will pay an average of $26,914 annually to raise their kids, with more than half of that ($14,968) going to childcare.
Here, too, there’s a significant difference in that cost based on where one lives—last year’s analysis by Tootris found the average cost of infant care in a daycare center across the state to be around $959 per month, but in Las Vegas, for instance, the cost was over 40% higher, at an average of $1365 per month. In other areas, it might fall below $800 per month.
The rest of that cost is made up by around $3,313 annually for the additional housing necessary to raise a child, an average of $1,894 in additional food costs, and other miscellaneous costs.
This makes Nevada one of the cheaper states for the cost of food for your child, but the additional housing and other costs balance it out.
#13: New Jersey
New Jersey closely follows Nevada for 13th place in child costs. Here, it will cost around $26,870 annually to provide for a small child.
While raising a child in New Jersey may be expensive, it’s yet another state on the list where childcare costs remain low on average because of the state’s subsidy program. Here, the average out-of-pocket cost of childcare will run a family around $13,674, although App reported last year that in some areas prices run closer to $20k annually.
Both food and housing costs run to the high end in New Jersey, which has the fifth highest cost of living overall in the United States. In the Garden State, housing your minor child will run around $4,054 per year, and feeding him will cost around $2,068.
#14: Alaska
If you’re raising a child in Alaska, you’ll spend an average of ten dollars less per year than you would have in New Jersey — in the Last Frontier, a child costs around $26,860 per year.
Alaska has the sixth-highest overall cost of living for several reasons. Because it is remote, transporting food and other goods can be expensive, and according to UpNest, the cold weather means that the average utility bill is about 33% higher than the national average. Add in a lack of public transportation and housing costs a bit above average compared to the contiguous U.S., which can make a significant difference.
On average, the cost of housing a child will run an additional $4,074 a year, and food expenses for one child will average around $4,074, second only to Hawaii.
#15: Oregon
Oregon families will spend around $26,334 to raise a small child.
Over half of this cost ($14,000 on average) will be spent on child care. Another $3,303 covers the additional housing needed to raise a child, and feeding him will average about $2,048.
According to Visual Capital’s analysis, Oregon is the tenth most expensive state in terms of cost of living, so it’s no surprise it also makes the list for the most expensive states to raise a child. Last year, The Observer ranked it third, behind only Hawaii and Alaska, citing gas prices and housing costs well above the national average as major reasons.