Cost of raising a child grows to more than $300,000

(CNN) – The cost of raising a child through high school has gone up, thanks to inflation.

For a married, middle-income couple, it now takes on average $310,605 to raise a child born in 2015 through the age of 17. That comes out to more than $18,000 a year on average.

The Brookings Institution came up with the estimate based on numbers for a couple with two children from the U.S. Agriculture Department.

The price tag includes a range of child expenses, including food, healthcare, clothing, childcare and activities.

Back in 2015, a federal government projection put the total child-raising cost at more than $233,000.

A senior fellow at Brookings suggests many couples will take more time to consider whether to have a first or second child.

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