Another doctoral candidate in economics, Abigail Dow of Boston University, found that as the price of child care rose, birthrates fell as families chose not to have children, stop at one child or delay pregnancy. Yet it may take decades to fully understand how these choices will shape the economy as today’s younger generations move through their peak childbearing years, said Kenneth Johnson, a demographer at the University of New Hampshire.
In interviews with couples in their 20s and 30s, many said they wanted to reach key milestones before having children, such as buying a house, paying off student debt or making enough money to afford child care. Others prioritize travel or financial stability. All said they were unwilling to compromise on these goals, even if it meant delaying parenthood indefinitely or not having children at all.
The Cost of Having a Child
Child care is often the second-biggest expense a family faces, after rent or a mortgage, said Karen Benjamin Guzzo, a family demographer at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. The lack of affordable child care has long been a problem, Dr. Guzzo added, and as everyday costs like groceries, utilities and health care rise, child care becomes one more weight on already stretched budgets.
The average annual cost of care for one child in the United States was about $13,000 in 2024, up nearly 30 percent from 2020, according to Child Care Aware of America, a nonprofit group. And as the summer approaches, camps and programs can add up to more than $1,200, on average, for the season. This cost alone is keeping three out of four families from enrolling their children in traditional summer programs, according to Boys & Girls Clubs of America.
Even before a child arrives, the costs rack up. A study by the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker published last year found that the average additional out-of-pocket cost for patients with employer insurance who gave birth was nearly $3,000 in the United States.
