You Won’t Believe How High The Cost Of Raising A Kid In Utah Has Soared

In 2023, experts predicted that the cost of raising a child from birth to adulthood (18-years old) would be about $235,000.

They were wrong.

In a new study by the Department of Health, they say the actual costs of rearing a child is closer to $300,000.

That's a 25-percent jump from 2023's projections.

One of the biggest factors is the cost of daycare or child care.

The Department of Health considers child care affordable if it takes less than seven-percent of a family's income, but there are currently no states where the average cost of child care is within that threshold for median-income families.

In Utah, for instance, infants and toddlers cost about $1,000 a month for daycare. That means the parents would have to make a combined $14,000 a month to have even a single child in daycare.

Let me do the math for you -- that's an annual salary of $168,000.

I don't know what you make, but I'm nowhere close to that.

Even if they grow up a little -- say a 3- or 4--year old -- the cost would still be around $700 a month. That means the parents would have to make $120,000 a year to have that seven percent number come into play.

Of course, daycare is nowhere near the only cost.

Parents have to factor in the price of diapers, food, clothing, dance lessons and/or sports, school fees, insurance costs and .... well the list is pretty endless.

Of course, it could also be worse -- much worse.

Estimates for more expensive states and raising children include nearly $40,000 a year in Massachusetts and Hawaii and around $35,000 in Connecticut.

In a related story, Gallup has a poll out that says more families are choosing to have fewer children or even none at all.

Why?

Perhaps they just can't afford it.

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