Cost to care for an infant in every state
Cost to care for an infant in every state
No matter where you are, having a baby is expensive. While the joy they bring is immeasurable, the financial consequences of having a child can cause significant strain on any family. On top of medical costs, there's formula, diapers, clothing, and a number of other expenses that wind up taking a big bite out of a family's savings account. A middle-class family can expect to pay $12,000, on average, to care for a newborn's first year of life. Considering that the median household income in the United States is now $61,372, that means that nearly 20% of a family's yearly income can go toward supporting their adorable new addition.
To better understand the cost to care for an infant in every state in America, Stacker took data from The Economic Policy Institute that broke down the numbers in April 2016 using their in-depth Minimum Wage Tracker and Family Budget Calculator. The rankings are all sorted by annual infant care costs and any ties were broken by the higher total of infant care costs as a share of median family income.
Click through to see how many states have infant care costs under $10,000 and which East Coast power center surpassed the $20,000 mark.
#51. Mississippi
Annual infant care costs: $4,822
Median family income: $44,717
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 10.8%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 51.2%
#50. Alabama
Annual infant care costs: $5,637
Median family income: $51,206
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 11%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 48.4%
#49. South Dakota
Annual infant care costs: $5,661
Median family income: $61,765
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 9.2%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 57.7%
#48. Louisiana
Annual infant care costs: $5,747
Median family income: $53,354
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 10.8%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 49.8%
#47. Tennessee
Annual infant care costs: $5,857
Median family income: $52,097
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 11.2%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 47.2%
#46. Arkansas
Annual infant care costs: $5,995
Median family income: $46,943
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 12.8%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 42.8%
#45. Kentucky
Annual infant care costs: $6,294
Median family income: $53,205
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 11.8%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 43.3%
#44. South Carolina
Annual infant care costs: $6,475
Median family income: $51,388
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 12.6%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 43%
#43. Wyoming
Annual infant care costs: $6,541
Median family income: $69,213
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 9.5%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 55.3%
#42. Oklahoma
Annual infant care costs: $6,788
Median family income: $52,275
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 13%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 42.1%
#41. Idaho
Annual infant care costs: $7,200
Median family income: $53,897
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 13.4%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 37.5%
#40. Georgia
Annual infant care costs: $7,644
Median family income: $55,411
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 13.8%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 37.7%
#39. Nebraska
Annual infant care costs: $7,926
Median family income: $63,135
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 12.6%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 39.9%
#38. West Virginia
Annual infant care costs: $7,926
Median family income: $52,485
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 15.1%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 28.5%
#37. New Mexico
Annual infant care costs: $7,942
Median family income: $46,697
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 17%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 32.9%
#36. North Dakota
Annual infant care costs: $8,217
Median family income: $71,072
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 11.6%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 44.6%
#35. Hawaii
Annual infant care costs: $8,280
Median family income: $74,919
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 11.1%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 47.3%
#34. Missouri
Annual infant care costs: $8,632
Median family income: $57,983
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 14.9%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 32%
#33. Utah
Annual infant care costs: $8,641
Median family income: $65,830
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 13.1%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 37.4%
#32. Florida
Annual infant care costs: $8,694
Median family income: $52,345
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 16.6%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 30.2%
#31. Texas
Annual infant care costs: $8,759
Median family income: $56,373
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 15.5%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 34.7%
#30. Indiana
Annual infant care costs: $8,918
Median family income: $57,166
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 15.6%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 29.2%
#29. Ohio
Annual infant care costs: $8,977
Median family income: $59,491
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 15.1%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 31.2%
#28. Montana
Annual infant care costs: $9,062
Median family income: $58,492
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 15.5%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 28%
#27. North Carolina
Annual infant care costs: $9,255
Median family income: $53,550
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 17.3%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 26.7%
#26. Arizona
Annual infant care costs: $9,437
Median family income: $53,470
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 17.6%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 27.9%
#25. Iowa
Annual infant care costs: $9,485
Median family income: $65,444
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 14.5%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 30%
#24. Maine
Annual infant care costs: $9,512
Median family income: $56,767
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 16.8%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 26.7%
#23. Nevada
Annual infant care costs: $9,852
Median family income: $53,900
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 18.3%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 23.8%
#22. Michigan
Annual infant care costs: $9,882
Median family income: $59,940
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 16.5%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 26%
#21. Virginia
Annual infant care costs: $10,458
Median family income: $76,610
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 13.7%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 35.6%
#20. Pennsylvania
Annual infant care costs: $10,640
Median family income: $67,296
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 15.8%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 27.5%
#19. Alaska
Annual infant care costs: $10,957
Median family income: $76,571
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 14.3%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 35.5%
#18. Delaware
Annual infant care costs: $11,000
Median family income: $70,007
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 15.7%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 28.9%
#17. Kansas
Annual infant care costs: $11,201
Median family income: $62,752
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 17.8%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 23.5%
#16. Vermont
Annual infant care costs: $11,270
Median family income: $65,941
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 17.1%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 22.7%
#15. Oregon
Annual infant care costs: $11,322
Median family income: $56,660
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 20%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 22.1%
#14. New Jersey
Annual infant care costs: $11,534
Median family income: $88,627
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 13%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 38%
#13. Wisconsin
Annual infant care costs: $11,579
Median family income: $65,708
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 17.6%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 21.4%
#12. New Hampshire
Annual infant care costs: $11,810
Median family income: $81,832
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 14.4%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 30.3%
#11. California
Annual infant care costs: $11,817
Median family income: $63,605
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 18.6%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 28.5%
#10. Washington
Annual infant care costs: $12,733
Median family income: $68,794
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 18.5%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 24%
#9. Rhode Island
Annual infant care costs: $12,867
Median family income: $67,119
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 19.2%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 21.9%
#8. Illinois
Annual infant care costs: $12,964
Median family income: $67,694
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 19.2%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 22.3%
#7. Colorado
Annual infant care costs: $13,154
Median family income: $69,903
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 18.8%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 22.6%
#6. Connecticut
Annual infant care costs: $13,880
Median family income: $86,981
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 16%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 28.1%
#5. Maryland
Annual infant care costs: $13,932
Median family income: $86,833
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 16%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 27.7%
#4. New York
Annual infant care costs: $14,144
Median family income: $66,830
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 21.2%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 20.3%
#3. Minnesota
Annual infant care costs: $14,366
Median family income: $76,538
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 18.8%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 17.8%
#2. Massachusetts
Annual infant care costs: $17,062
Median family income: $87,580
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 19.5%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 18.7%
#1. Washington D.C.
Annual infant care costs: $22,631
Median family income: $63,587
Infant care costs as a share of median family income: 35.6%
Share of families able to afford infant care (costs are 10% or less of income): 9.4%
