If your middle-income family welcomed a baby last year and plans to raise him or her to the age of 18 (you may not want to anymore after reading this), you're looking at a $241,080 bill. That's according to a new USDA report, which sees the cost of raising a kid up 2.6% from 2011—higher than the rate of inflation, Bloomberg reports. And if you adjust for future inflation, the total bill hits nearly $302,000. The biggest cost involved: housing, at 30%. Next up, for lower-income families, is food, while it's child care in richer homes.
Thanks in particular to housing and health care costs, the total figure has risen 23% since 1960, USA Today reports, which is when the yearly study began. And it doesn't include college. There is, however, a big difference in spending between wealthy and lower-income families: Total spending on a kid born in 2012, counting inflation, will range from $217,000—for families making less than $60,640—to some $501,000 for families making more than $105,000. Also worth noting: Wealthy families spend three times as much as poorer ones on entertainment and books for their kids. (Read more parenting stories.)
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