The Average American Spends This Much Raising a Child

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Agriculture provided an estimate for how much a child would cost to raise. Obviously, that's a lot of money -- but parents can try to find ways to keep costs down a bit so they can more easily afford to cover their kids' costs without going into credit card debt or busting their budget. Children under the age of two tended to cost around $300 per year less than average while teenagers 15 to 17 cost $900 more in large part because they generally eat more at that age and transportation expenses increase as they get their own vehicles or parents pay for their car insurance.