It costs more annually to raise a child in Massachusetts than some people make in a year.
Parents magazine released a state-by-state breakdown of how much it costs annually to raise a child in each state, and Massachusetts came in at No. 1.
The list, based on a 2024 study from SmartAsset, found that parents in Massachusetts spend on average nearly $650,000 on a child by the time they turn 18 years old.
According to Parents, the biggest expenses are typically housing, food, childcare, health care, education and transportation.
Here’s what the cost breakdown is in Massachusetts.
Amanda Thompson, founder of Prime Craftsman Homes, takes her granddaughter, Anabella, to daycare before going to work at Prime Craftsman Homes in Broken Arrow, Oklahoma, on March 4, 2025.
How much does it cost to raise a child in MA?
According to SmartAsset, it costs $35,841 per year for two working adults to raise one child in Massachusetts.
That includes more than $21,000 annually in childcare costs, just under $5,000 in additional housing and about $2,200 in food.
Medical costs per year are about $2,300 on average, while transportation is just under $3,000 per year.
In total, other necessities for a child in Massachusetts come out to about $1,900 per year, according to the study.
Most expensive states for raising a child
Although Massachusetts came in at No. 1 on the list, several other New England states made the top ten.
Per SmartAsset, here are the ten most expensive states for raising a child, plus the annual total:
Melina Khan is a trending reporter for the USA TODAY Network – New England, which serves more than a dozen affiliated publications across New England. She can be reached at [email protected].
This article originally appeared on Telegram & Gazette: MA is most expensive state to raise child. How much it costs per year
