2026年4月7日 下午4:33 美国东部时间 / 哥伦比亚广播公司（CBS）新闻
作者：玛丽·坎宁安
养育孩子会带来一长串开支，从托儿费到额外的食品杂货开支。但18年下来总开销能达到多少呢？
LendingTree公司的最新估算显示，2026年这一总花费为303418美元，平均每年16857美元。这是LendingTree自2023年开始开展这项分析以来，该数字首次突破30万美元，较上年增长约2%。
该计算基于美国中等收入家庭（年收入约10万美元）的典型开支，并计入了税收优惠带来的成本抵扣。由于该统计截止到孩子年满18岁，因此未包含大学学费这另一项父母的大额开支。
美国大学教育的年均成本约为3.8万美元，这意味着还会再增加15.2万美元的总支出。
美国家庭正感受到养育孩子带来的经济压力。CBS新闻今年2月的一项民调显示，77%的受访者认为如今养家比上一辈更难。LendingTree此前的一项研究发现，许多家长对额外开支准备不足，部分家长甚至为支付托儿费和其他开支负债。
“养育一个孩子18年的成本已经攀升至30万美元以上，这种稳步上涨给美国人的预算带来了巨大压力，”LendingTree首席消费者金融分析师马特·舒尔茨在一份声明中说道。
和大多数开支一样，地理位置也会影响成本。LendingTree的调查发现，阿拉斯加、堪萨斯州和蒙大拿州这三个州的养育成本较上年涨幅超过20%，而夏威夷则是全美养育孩子成本最高的州，2026年当地家庭预计将花费412661美元。
部分地区为家长提供了一定程度的经济缓解，该研究指出，一些与育儿相关的开支较上年出现了“大幅放缓”。
例如，2026年婴儿托儿费估计为17264美元，比上年减少572美元。LendingTree估算，孩子出生后的前五年，每年养育成本平均为29325美元，同比下降0.3%。
不过，从孩子出生到高中毕业的总养育成本仍是一笔巨额开支，考虑到2024年美国中等家庭收入为83730美元，这一数字尤为突出。目前养育孩子的总花费已经接近美国房屋的中位售价，根据Zillow的数据，截至1月31日，美国房屋中位售价为35.6万美元。
研究人员使用了美国人口普查局和劳工统计局2024年的数据，以及其他多种政府、非营利组织和学术机构的资料。
艾米·皮奇 编辑
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/dealing-with-the-crushing-costs-of-childcare/
Raising a child now costs over $300,000 in the U.S., study finds. See how your state compares.
April 7, 2026 4:33 PM EDT / CBS News
By Mary Cunningham
Raising a child comes with a long list of expenses, from child care to additional groceries. But how much does that add up to over 18 years?
A new estimate from LendingTree puts the price tag at $303,418 for 2026, or an average of $16,857 per year. It’s the first time the figure has topped $300,000 since LendingTree began the analysis in 2023 and is up about 2% from a year earlier.
The calculation is based on the typical expenses for a couple earning the U.S. median family income, about $100,000, while accounting for offsets from tax incentives. Because the analysis ends when a child turns 18, it does not include the cost of college, another major expense for parents.
With the average cost of a U.S. college education at about$38,000 a year, that could add another $152,000 to the total.
American families are feeling the financial strain of raising children, with a CBS News poll in February finding that 77% of respondents believe it is harder to raise a family today than it was for previous generations. A previous LendingTree study found many parents were unprepared for the added costs, with some going into debt to pay for child care and other expenses.
“The cost of raising a child for 18 years has climbed to more than $300,000, and that steady rise puts tremendous strain on Americans’ budgets,” said Matt Schulz, LendingTree’s chief consumer finance analyst, in a statement.
As with most expenses, location matters. Costs in three states — Alaska, Kansas and Montana — jumped more than 20% from a year earlier, while Hawaii is the most expensive state to raise a child, with families expected to spend $412,661 in 2026, LendingTree found.
Some areas are offering parents a measure of financial relief, with the study noting that some child-related expenses saw a “dramatic slowdown” from a year earlier.
Infant child care, for example, is estimated to cost $17,264 in 2026, or $572 less than a year ago. LendingTree estimates it costs an average of $29,325 per year to raise a child in the first five years, down 0.3%.
However, the total cost to raise a child from birth through high school graduation represents a major expense, given that the median household income in 2024 was $83,730. The price tag for child-rearing now approaches the median sales price of a home in the U.S., which was $356,000 as of January 31, according to Zillow.
Researchers tapped 2024 data from the U.S. Census Bureau and Bureau of Labor Statistics, as well as from a variety of other government, nonprofit and academic sources.
Edited by Aimee Picchi
https://www.cbsnews.com/video/dealing-with-the-crushing-costs-of-childcare/
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