You might want to check your bank account before having a baby in these states.
A study by finance company LendingTree released last week reveals the states where childrearing costs the most and the least.
The annual cost to raise a small child in the US increased by 19.3% nationwide to $21,681 between 2016 and 2021.
The researchers accounted for rent, food, childcare, apparel, transportation, health insurance premiums, and state tax exemptions or credits when calculating the cost of raising a child.
Costs in every category — except for rent — increased over these five years. Much of this rise could be attributed to overall inflation.
Hawaii was ranked the most expensive state to raise a child — it’s also been previously named the most expensive state for singles.
On average, it cost $30,506 to raise a small child in Hawaii in 2021.
The large sum was largely attributed to rent — with parents paying a whopping $4,176 more a year in rent than their child-free counterparts.
Parents on the islands can also expect to pay an additional $4,010 annually in health insurance premiums.
Those wanting to become parents should also double-check their finances before moving to Washington.
Washington DC and the state of Washington followed as the most expensive places to raise a child, at $30,097 and $28,166, respectively.
Unsurprisingly, the South was found to be the cheapest region to raise a child.
The annual costs of parenting were lowest in the states of Mississippi, at $15,555, Alabama at $16,192, and Arkansas at $16,284.
Parents still pay more than $1,000 more a year in rent than non-parents in these states — and have food, transportation, and healthcare premium cost increases comparable to more expensive regions — but drastically cheaper childcare costs helped to reduce overall expenses.
The states with the fewest expenses paid among the least for infant daycare, less than $8,000 a year.
Nationwide, families are expected to spend an average of $237,482 over 18 years, before accounting for the rising costs of higher education.
Hawaii once again ranked at the top of the list, costing parents an average of $314,529 to raise a child for 18 years. On the other end, the lowest 18-year estimate was reported in South Carolina, at $169,327.
On average, families spend almost a fifth of their annual income on child-related expenses.
In the three most expensive areas (Hawaii, the District of Columbia and the state of Washington), the annual cost of raising a child represents more than 40% of the 2021 median nationwide household income of $69,021.
The rising cost of childrearing is just one of many factors in the decline of US population growth.
A Match.com survey from 2022 found a 19% dip in singles under 40 who said it was important to have a partner who wants to have kids, compared with 2017.
The decreased interest in having children was “most pronounced among women, with only 56% now saying it is important to find a partner who wants children,” according to the research.
Younger generations have become particularly disinterested in childrearing, with 37% of non-parents younger than 40 revealing that it is not too likely or not at all likely they will have children, according to the Pew Research Center.
Of those planning to remain childless, the majority (60%) said they simply don’t want to become parents.