The Cost of a Child reports

In 2025, the cost of raising a child to age 18 was £250,000 for a couple and £290,000 for a lone parent.

The Cost of a Child in 2025

  • All family types we look at in the report are struggling – most in-work families do not have enough income to cover basic costs, while out-of-work families are particularly far away from being able to meet these costs (an out-of-work couple with two children can only cover 37 per cent of their basic costs).
  • Families can cover far less of the cost of children than in 2008. The key driver of this is cuts to the social security system. Costs have risen much faster than increases to the social security system (ie, families have seen a real-terms cut to social security), affecting all family types.
  • Families with three children fare particularly badly – a lone parent working full time on the minimum wage can only cover 51 per cent of basic costs (or 60 per cent if they work full time on the median wage).
  • The key driver of larger families struggling more is the two-child limit. Costs are similar for each additional child, while the support provided through social security is much lower for third and subsequent children.

In Scotland

  • An inadequate social security system means many families, including some working full time, do not have enough income to cover the cost of a minimum standard of living.
  • A lone parent with two children working full-time on the minimum wage can only cover 79 per cent of these costs, while a similar couple can only cover 90 per cent. The same families across the rest of the UK can cover 69 percent, and 82 percent, respectively.
  • An out-of-work lone parent with two children only has enough income to cover 55 per cent of costs (46 per cent for a couple). The same families across the rest of the UK can cover 44 percent, and 37 percent, respectively.
  • Scotland specific policies (most notably the Scottish child payment) help families but still many families are struggling to meet their minimum costs.

Latest Cost of a Child reports

See our most recent Cost of a Child reports

All posts from CPAG about the Cost of a Child
Report

The Cost of a Child in 2025

CPAG’s annual Cost of a Child report looks at how much it costs families to provide a minimum…

Report

The Cost of a Child in 2024

CPAG’s annual Cost of a Child report looks at how much it costs families to provide a minimum…