Calculator, UK
How much does it cost to raise a child in the UK?
An estimate from birth to 18 in pounds, scaled by household income and nation, with the categories broken out.
Total, birth to 18
£175,750
for a child (UK average)
What this means
Spread over eighteen years that is about £814 a month. Treat it as an order of magnitude: your own childcare and housing costs will move it more than any national figure.
A planning estimate. The national starting figure and the income and regional scaling are our own approximations, not figures from a single published study. Excludes higher education unless you tick the box.
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What this result means
Childcare is the dominant early cost in the UK, and the figure falls substantially once free early-years hours begin. University is excluded unless you tick the box, since tuition is normally borrowed rather than paid from household income.
Like every estimate on this site, this is an order of magnitude rather than a forecast. Your own childcare and housing costs will move it more than any national figure.
Assumptions and limits
- The national starting figure is our own planning estimate. It has not been traced to a single published national study, and we say so rather than cite one that does not contain it.
- Estimates are spread across eighteen years, not a bill due now.
- Higher education is excluded unless you tick the box.
- Income scaling and regional multipliers are broad approximations.
- Assumes a two-parent household.
- Currency amounts are not converted between countries.
Sources
- Geography
- UK
No source is cited for the national starting figure because it is our own planning estimate, not a figure taken from a published study.
The decision behind the number
Money · QuestionHow much does it cost to raise a child?
The figure most often quoted is about $233,600 from birth to age 17, from the USDA, for a middle-income married-couple family with a child born in…
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