It’s a good thing raising a family is rewarding in so many intangible ways, because to do so in the U.S. costs a lot in the process. Not only do overall costs of living go up when you have children, because now you have more people to feed, clothe and educate, but a recent study conducted by GOBankingRates found that the average annual cost of center-based childcare (as opposed to home-based) can run around $15,000 when they’re babies to about $9,000 for school-aged children.
Check Out: The 30 Safest and Richest US Cities To Live in 2024
Read Next: 7 Reasons You Must Speak To a Financial Advisor To Boost Your Savings in 2024
Moreover, the cost to raise a child varies from city to city and state to state. To find out the most and least expensive states to have a child, GOBankingRates analyzed cities to find the most expensive places to raise a family with data from Sperling’s BestPlaces, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, the Zillow Home Value Index and AreaVibes. Unsurprisingly, many of the cities on this list are in states already known for their high costs of living.
Here’s a look at the top 10 most expensive cities for raising a child.
10. Pearl City, Hawaii
- Median income: $116,938
- Monthly mortgage: $5,517
- Total monthly cost of living: $9,237
- Total annual cost of living: $110,849
Find Out: How Much Money Is Needed To Be Considered Middle Class in Every State?
Avoid These: 7 Worst States To Buy Property in the Next 5 Years, According to Real Estate Agents
9. Spring Valley, New York
- Median income: $50,749
- Monthly mortgage: $4,794
- Total monthly cost of living: $8,353
- Total annual cost of living: $100,234
See More: These Are America’s Wealthiest Suburbs
8. Menlo Park, California
- Median income: $198,273
- Monthly mortgage: $16,120
- Total monthly cost of living: $19,439
- Total annual cost of living: $233,267
7. Kapolei, Hawaii
- Median income: $121,768
- Monthly mortgage: $5,129
- Total monthly cost of living: $8,937
- Total annual cost of living: $107,240
6. Monsey, New York
- Median income: $49,630
- Monthly mortgage: $7,022
- Total monthly cost of living: $10,550
- Total annual cost of living: $126,596
Plan Ahead: 5 Cities Where Homes Will Be a Total Steal in 2 Years
5. Honolulu, Hawaii
- Median income: $82,772
- Monthly mortgage: $7,416
- Total monthly cost of living: $11,030
- Total annual cost of living: $132,355
4. Newport Beach, California
- Median income: $149,471
- Monthly mortgage: $22,013
- Total monthly cost of living: $24,879
- Total annual cost of living: $298,551
3. Waipahu, Hawaii
- Median income: $87,961
- Monthly mortgage: $5,302
- Total monthly cost of living: $9,090
- Total annual cost of living: $109,076
2. Burlingame, California
- Median income: $165,940
- Monthly mortgage: $15,619
- Total monthly cost of living: $19,012
- Total annual cost of living: $228,148
Tropical Paradise: 6 Best Florida Suburbs To Buy Property in the Next 5 Years, According to Real Estate Agents
1. New York City, New York
- Median income: $76,607
- Monthly mortgage: $4,458
- Total monthly cost of living: $8,431
- Total annual cost of living: $101,168
How To Afford Being a Parent No Matter Where You Live
How much do kids cost? As you can see, that really depends on where you raise them. Child care and housing are the biggest expenses no matter where you live, so keep these costs in mind when planning where to raise a family. Ideally, you’d have enough left over after paying for the day-to-day costs of having a child to save money for college, as tuition costs continue to rise.
Jordan Rosenfeld contributed to the reporting for this article.
Methodology: For this study, GOBankingRates analyzed cities to find the most expensive places to raise a family. First GOBankingRates found the cost-of-living indexes as sourced from Sperling’s BestPlaces and using the national average expenditure costs for a married couple with children as sourced from the Bureau of Labor Statistics for a Married Couple with Children, the average expenditure costs can be calculated for each city. Using the Zillow Home Value Index from June 2024, the average single-family home value can be found. By assuming a 10% down payment and using the national average 30-year fixed mortgage rate, as sourced from the Federal Reserve Economic Data, the average mortgage can be calculated. The average mortgage and expenditure cost can be used to calculated the overall cost of living for each city. The livability index was sourced from AreaVibes and included as supplemental information. To qualify for this study the city had to have a population of at least 20,000 resident and have all data available. The household income was scored and weighted at 1.00, the mortgage cost was scored and weighted at 2.00 and the expenditure cost was scored and weighted at 2.00. All the scores were summed and sorted to show the most expensive cities to raise a family. All data was collected on and is up to date as of Aug. 22, 2024.
More From GOBankingRates
- 3 Things You Must Do When Your Savings Reach $50,000
- 5 Things You Should Stop Wasting Money on if Kamala Harris Wins in November, According to Experts
- 3 Things to Do This Week If You Have Debt
- 9 Cars To Stay Away From In Retirement
This article originally appeared on GOBankingRates.com: 10 Most Expensive Cities To Raise a Family
The views and opinions expressed herein are the views and opinions of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of Nasdaq, Inc.
