A new study from the U-S Department of Agriculture predicts it will cost Iowans about 245-thousand dollars to raise a child born in the last year through age 18. U-S-D-A Undersecretary Kevin Concannon, the former director of the Iowa Department of Human Services, says that near-quarter-million dollar figure doesn’t take inflation into account. “That amount will add up to $304,480,” he says.

Concannon, the agency’s Undersecretary for Food, Nutrition and Consumer Services, says the amount of money you spend depends on how many children you have, the age of the children, your marital status, where you live and your household income. Mark Lino, an economist in the U-S-D-A’s Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, is the author of the report and says the most expensive age group is teens.

“These are the years when they start to drive so you add them to your auto insurance,” Lino says, “maybe buy them an automobile.” Iowans can consider themselves lucky. Lino says Midwesterners have the lowest child-raising expenses due to lower housing costs in our region. Calculate your potential costs for raising a child here: http://www.cnpp.usda.gov/calculatorintro.htm

(Radio Iowa)