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Annual cost of raising a small child goes up in several states: See where

By
Published  April 11, 2026 12:01pm MST
Family
FOX Local
article

FILE - A generic image of an empty preschool classroom. Getty Images

The Brief

    • The new analysis from LendingTree determined the early years a child’s life cost more now in a majority of states.
    • Nebraska saw the largest increase, followed by Montana, Maine and Wisconsin.
    • The states with the biggest increases were spread throughout the country but tended to be more sparsely populated states, LendingTree noted.

The cost of raising a small child has increased in several states.

A new analysis from LendingTree looked at data that measures how much it costs to raise a child, and determined the early years a child’s life cost more now in a majority of states this year. 

Cost increase to raise a small child

By the numbers:

From 2025 to 2026, 39 states saw an increase in how much it costs to raise a child in the first five years of his or her life. 

In fact, 14 states saw a year-over-year increase of at least 10% – and costs spiked by more than 20% in at least four states. 

READ MORE: It now costs more than $300K to raise a child; here’s how much it costs in your state

Dig deeper:

Nebraska (27.4%) saw the largest increase, followed by Montana (24.5%), Maine (24.4%) and Wisconsin (23.3%). 

The states with the biggest increases were spread throughout the country but tended to be more sparsely populated states, LendingTree noted. 

RELATED: The 'bare bones' cost of raising a child has spiked: Here's why

The other side:

Eleven states saw the annual cost of raising a small child dip from 2025’s report to 2026’s, though most of the decreases were smaller than 2.0%. 

The one glaring exception was New Hampshire, where costs fell by a stunning 19.5% year over year. North Dakota (9.9%) and Vermont (5.2%) were the only other states to see decreases of more than 5.0%.

Methodology:

LendingTree’s calculations incorporated expenses for rent, food, infant day care, apparel, transportation and health insurance premiums.

It looked at various data sources such as the U.S. Census Bureau, U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Massachusetts Institute of Technology Living Wage Calculator, Price of Care: 2024 report from Child Care Aware of America, Care.com 2026 Cost of Care Report, U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis (BEA) regional price parities, KFF, 2024, Tax Foundation, 2025 and IRS, 2025.

The Source: Information in this article was taken from LendingTree, which looked at various U.S. government data sources. This story was reported from Detroit.

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