Mississippi leads the country as the least expensive place to raise a child — even as costs of things like child care, rent and other things related to children continue to rise.

A recent LendingTree study shows that the average annual essential costs to raise a small child (from food and apparel to transportation and child care) rose nearly 20% between 2016 and 2021, the latest year for which complete data was available.

Basic annual expenses to raise a child equal $15,555 in Mississippi compared to Hawaii, which leads the nation at more than $30,000 annual expenses.

Families are projected to spend $185,350 over 18 years raising a child in Mississippi. In Mississippi, families spend an average of 19.1% of their income on the basic annual expenses to raise a child.

Nationwide, the average annual essential costs to raise a small child jumped 19.3%. Annual expenses minus tax exemptions or credits totaled $21,681 in 2021 versus $18,167 in 2016.

Lending Tree’s study looked at data at the national and state levels, so parents can learn where it’s most — and least — expensive to raise a small child. After all, any insight on savings potential matters because “there is so much that goes into providing even the basics for that little person,” as Matt Schulz, LendingTree chief credit analyst, puts it. “Those things you need aren’t getting any cheaper these days.”

Here’s where they’re most expensive.

Basic annual expenses to raise a small child in 2021 equaled $30,506 in Hawaii, more than any other state. T

he District of Columbia and the state of Washington followed at $30,097 and $28,116, respectively.

In contrast, annual costs were lowest in Mississippi at $15,555, Alabama at $16,192 and Arkansas at $16,284. The states with the smallest expenses paid among the lowest for infant day care, at less than $8,000 a year.

Families are projected to spend $237,482 over 18 years to raise a child. Our 18-year estimate is highest in Hawaii at $314,529 and lowest in South Carolina at $169,327.

Families spent an average of 19.0% of their income in 2021 on the basic annual expenses to raise a small child. This percentage was highest in Hawaii at 23.9% and lowest in Georgia at 15.5%.

For more on this study, click here.