Raising a child in America can be incredibly expensive, especially in certain metropolitan areas. A recent analysis reveals which U.S. cities are the priciest for families, highlighting staggering costs in places like San Francisco, New York, and Boston. Factors such as housing, childcare, and education contribute to the high expenses, making it crucial for parents to carefully consider their budget when choosing where to live.

Raising a child may be expensive, costing hundreds of thousands of dollars from birth to adulthood.

Bruno Venditti of Visual Capitalist created this chart, which illustrates the ten most costly metro areas in the United States to raise a child out of the 50 largest. Food, housing, daycare, healthcare, transportation, and other basics all come at a cost.

All figures are as of February 2024. The data is from SmartAsset.

Methodology: SmartAsset used MIT Living Wage Calculator data to compare the living costs of a household with two working adults and one child to those of a childless home with two working people in major metropolitan locations.

Boston Tops the List

Raising a child in a major U.S. metro region costs an average of $25,181 per year.

The Boston-Cambridge-Newton, MA area is the most costly, at $37,758 per year. Childcare costs $22,806 per year, while other housing needs cost $5,425.

The San Francisco-Oakland-Berkeley metropolitan area ranks second, with an annual cost of $35,642 per child. Washington, DC is third, with an average cost of $35,554. Washington also leads the country in childcare expenses, at $24,886 per year.

The San Diego-Chula Vista-Carlsbad area has higher housing prices, which total $7,056 per year. Meanwhile, the San Jose-Sunnyvale-Santa Clara area has the highest food, healthcare, and transportation prices.

Recently, GreatGameIndia reported that, according to the MIT Living Wage Calculator, Massachusetts tops the list of wages needed for comfortable living, requiring $116,022 yearly, while West Virginia is the most affordable at $78,790.