How much does it cost to raise a child in Illinois?
Obviously these prices fluctuate based on the location (especially based on your distance from Chicago), along with other factors including housing, daycare and lifestyle.
An analysis from SmartAsset revealed that in all but very few United States metros, these costs are shooting up.
Using MIT’s Living Wage Calculator, the finance site compared the living costs of a household with two working adults and one child to that of a childless household in 48 of the largest U.S. metro areas. Here’s how Illinois cities compare.
Read more: What income is considered middle class in Illinois?
What’s the most expensive metro to raise a child in 2026?
Here are the most expensive metro areas to raise a child in 2026, according to SmartAsset:
What’s the least expensive metro to raise a child in 2026?
Here are the cheapest metros to raise a child, according to the analysis:
How much does it cost to raise a child in Illinois metros?
Illinois’ biggest metro area (Chicago, Naperville and Elgin) landed perfectly in the middle of the ranking at No. 24.
The cost rose about 8.04% from $24,653 in February 2025 to $26,635 in February 2026, according to the analysis.
SmartAsset broke up the 2026 cost into about $14,510 for childcare, $2,045 for food and $10,080 for other expenses, such as housing, healthcare, transportation and housing.
Where did the cost of raising a child increase the most?
The cost of raising a child skyrocketed the most in the Indianapolis-Carmel-Greenwood metro area, shooting up 20.77% from $26,947 in 2025 to $32,543 in 2026.
Where did costs decrease?
Costs only went down in two of the 48 metros analyzed by SmartAsset- Richmond (-1.91%), and Virginia Beach-Chesapeake-Norfolk (-1.21%) in Virginia.
Prices remained almost stagnant in the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria (0.3%), and Baltimore-Columbia-Towson (0.5%) metro areas.
This article originally appeared on Journal Star: How much does it cost to raise a child in Illinois cities?
Reporting by Hannah Hudnall, Peoria Journal Star / Journal Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Hannah Hudnall, Peoria Journal Star | USA TODAY Network
