- September 7, 2024
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Cost of living studies and reports in Florida of late have mostly focused on housing — for good reason. Finding a place to live, for many in a variety of fields, has gone from hard to heartache to hellish. That struggle, in turn, has a direct impact on the business community.
But another segment of expenses that shouldn’t be overlooked is the cost of having kids. And, according to a new analysis from data firm SmartAsset, that’s not cheap. When factoring in food, housing, child care, health care, transportation and other necessities, it costs an average of $20,813 annually nationwide when a two-adult household adds a child, the report found. (On the flip side, with a declining birth rate nationally, the costs of not having children, to society and in business, are also high.)
Child care, costing on average $9,051 a year nationwide, is the biggest expense when it comes to the overall aspect of taking care of another human being, according to the report. That accounts for nearly 50% of the annual cost of raising a child.
Bringing Up Baby | ||||
Metro Area | Costs of Raising a Child | Child Care | Housing | Food |
Naples-Marco Island | $24,637 | $10,534 | $1,768 | $5,724 |
North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton | $24,321 | $10,362 | $1,768 | $5,580 |
Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater | $22,259 | $10,244 | $1,768 | $3,636 |
Punta Gorda | $22,052 | $9,953 | $1,768 | $3,720 |
Cape Coral-Fort Myers | $21,126 | $9,687 | $1,768 | $3,060 |
Lakeland-Winter Haven | $19,272 | $8,181 | $1,768 | $2,712 |
Source: SmartAsset |
The first Florida region to appear on the report is Naples-Marco Island, where the annual cost of raising a child, the report found, is $24,637. That’s No. 37 nationally. North Port-Sarasota-Bradenton is next up for Florida areas, at No. 47. The Tampa-St. Petersburg-Clearwater region is No. 100, Punta Gorda is No. 108 and Cape Coral-Fort Myers is No. 145. Lakeland-Winter Haven is the least expensive metro area in the region, at an annual average cost of $19,272.
Some other interesting data points in the report, which looked at the cost metrics for raising one child in 381 metro areas across the country, include: