$241,080. According to the latest numbers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, that’s how much it will cost you to raise a child born in 2012 for the next seventeen years. (I’m not great at math, but I’m pretty sure that’s less than you’d have to spend to secure a covered parking spot in San Francisco over the same time period.) The cost of raising a kid increases to over three hundred grand if you adjust for inflation, but parents can enjoy significant savings if they’re willing to cut back on a few miscellaneous items such as food, shelter, and transportation. Here’s the story and a chart that breaks down the cost of raising a child.

+ When it comes to demographics in the U.S., the big story isn’t these expensive kids, but rather the aging of the population. This excellent animation really tells the story of a dramatic shift.