$250,000 TO RAISE A KID FAMILIES IN URBAN WEST PAY THE MOST.

Byline: Troy Anderson Staff Writer

Parents, sit down, this is startling news: The average cost of raising a child from birth to high school graduation has hit $253,830, if you're a family with an income of more than $64,200 a year in the urban West.

Factor in inflation expected over the next 18 years, and the cost for a newborn will jump to more than $340,000.

That's according to a new report from the U.S. Department of Agriculture that says the average cost has risen dramatically since 1960, when it cost just $25,230 to raise a child through age 17.

The USDA, which conducts annual consumer expenditure surveys, found the cost of raising children in two-parent homes in urban areas of the Western United States is the highest in the nation, ranging from $13,600 to $14,980 a year, depending on the age of the child.

``That's a shock,'' said Tina Arsow, 33, of Van Nuys, who is raising two sons with her husband, Edward, 41. ``I didn't realize it was so much. You have children and you don't really add up every penny.''

Mark Lino, a USDA economist and author of the report, said the urban West is the most expensive place to raise children primarily because of high housing costs.

``When you look at housing expenses for children in other regions of the country, it's much higher in the urban West,'' Lino said.

While housing a child through age 17 costs a family $98,130 in the West, the price drops to $83,400 in the urban Midwest.

``That is really the biggest difference,'' said Stephen Cauley, associate director of the Real Estate Center at the Anderson School at the University of California, Los Angeles.

``If you are a buying a quart of milk, a car or some lumber, it's about the same cost throughout the country. Number one is housing and number two is taxes. Our marginal (tax) rates are pushing 50 percent.''

The USDA report says a family with an income of less than $38,200 in the urban West will spend $135,630, or $7,000 to $8,150 a year, to raise a child.

A family with an income between $38,200 and $64,200 will spend $180,090, or $9,470 to $10,730 a year, to raise a child.

Costs are lower in the urban Northeast and urban South, with the lowest child-rearing expenses in the urban Midwest and all rural areas.

On average, nationwide, a family earning more than $64,000 will spend $241,700 to raise a child, or $13,000 to $14,260 a year. A family earning $38,000 to $64,000 will spend $165,630, or $8,740 to $9,860 a year. A family earning less than $38,000 will spend $121,230, or $6,280 to $7,280 a year.

Since 1960, expenses for children have changed considerably.

The good news is that food has decreased from 24 percent to 18 percent of total child-rearing costs.

Lino said teen-agers from 15 to 17 are the most expensive, costing $2,580 a year to feed in the urban West.

``Teen-agers are very food-intensive,'' Lino said. ``They have the highest food costs of all children. And teen-agers are the ones when they start driving you have extra car insurance. You may even buy a second automobile for them.''

While food costs have dropped, child care and education expenses have increased since 1960 from 1 percent to 10 percent of total child-rearing costs.

For a family earning more than $64,200 a year, those costs are $1,990 a year for children 2 and under, $2,170 for ages 3-5 and $1,490 for 6- to 8-year-olds. For families earning less than $38,200 a year, the costs drop to $790 a year for children 2 and under; $890 for children 3-5; and $530 for children 6-8.

Van Nuys resident Shirley Ruiz, a 24-year-old Internet content specialist for a graphics design company, finds it difficult to raise her son, 6-year-old Lavonn Atkins, on her $21,000 annual salary.

``The cost of raising a kid today is extremely hard because most parents have to work,'' she said.

``Not only do they have to pay for child care, but they also have to pay for clothing, school activities, food and gas. I'm able to pay my bills and put food on the table, but if anything drastic were to happen I would be in serious trouble.''

For families making more than $64,200 a year, transportation costs range from $1,710 to $2,400 a year per child.

Alexandra Cole, an assistant professor of political science and sociology at California State University, Northridge, said she spends $81 a month on Metrolink tickets and sometimes drives from her home in Mission Viejo to her job.

``The Metrolink is much more expensive than driving a car,'' said Cole, who is raising her 6-year-old son, Christian Macias, and 1-year-old daughter, Francesca Macias, with her husband, Craig Macias, 37, on their $100,000 annual salaries. ``Those are the hidden costs no one thinks about. I take the train with my daughter. She sits on my lap. Everyone knows us.''

Housing costs were the single largest expenditure on children in 2000, averaging 33 percent of the total costs over 17 years, compared with 32 percent in 1960. The overall cost of raising a child has increased 13 percent from 1960 to 2000, measured in 2000 dollars.

Cauley said the report doesn't take into account that many parents pay more than $13,000 a year to send their children to private schools.

``That's why California and Los Angeles County in particular is becoming this extreme example, like a South American city, where you have a very, very affluent portion of the population who afford these things and a substantial poor segment of the population who can't.''

Nancy Wyatt, president of the Family Child Care Council in Reseda, said the report doesn't even factor in the cost of sending children to college.

``With a good college, it's up to half a million,'' Wyatt said.

STICKER SHOCK 

Here's what a family spends to raise a child from birth to high school graduation, based on spending in urban areas of the Western United States:

-- $253,830 for a family with an income of more than $64,200 a year

-- $180,090 for a family with an income between $38,200 and $64,200 a year

-- $135,630 for a family with an income of less than $38,200 a year.

SOURCE: U.S. Department of Agriculture

CAPTION(S):

photo, box

Photo:

Van Nuys residents Edward Arsow and his wife, Tina, face some of the nation's highest costs to raise Michael, 7, left, and Erik, 9.

Box: STICKER SHOCK (see text)

David Sprague/Staff Photographer