The average cost of raising a child to age 18 is $245,340 for a two-parent, middle-income family, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

And that doesn’t include costs for giving birth or paying for college.  The annual calculation includes housing, food, transportation, clothing, health care, child care, education and miscellaneous.

If you add in 2.4 percent projected inflation, the cost is $304,480.  The estimate rose 1.8 percent from last year.