The data is all over the place but the average is about $310,610 over 18 years which is around $17,225 per year.
https://ifstudies.org/blog/the-true-cost-of-raising-a-childIt can go much higher as well if you have a child with any number of genetic conditions or you want to give them more than the bare minimum.
For perspective my apartment costs ~$17,000 per year so having a child is the equivalent of renting a second home. That's a cheap apartment too. Just to break even you'd have to make $34k/yr. but you won't live. You still have to factor in bills, insurance, medical expenses for yourself, travel costs, car insurance, food and basic living supplies. The cost is staggering because there's a lot of unexpected expenses like broken arms, various flus, vaccinations and mental health services. Unless you want to raise your kids the same way niggers raise theirs you're going to be spending much more than $17k/yr.
Lastly there's a disparity between the cost of living and wages. People in America aren't benefiting from education like they used to and we have a lot of people working menial jobs to payoff their debt for their diploma that they'll never get out from underneath. This stagnation of earning power for the past 40 years has made it even more difficult to be a parent.
As a whole children are the most expensive thing to can own and it's not the entry cost it's the upkeep. Although the entry cost is very high.
https://www.uwhealth.org/news/how-much-does-it-really-cost-have-baby>from 16k to 21kI have that kind of money sitting around but most people don't and it's not due to laziness or poor choices. The game was rigged from the start and if you didn't come out the gate swinging you're gonna have to disregard your morals to be successful.
