The report, conducted by the department's Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion, said the total cost, which covers food, shelter and other necessities to raise a child by middle- income families, edges up to 301,970 U.S. dollars when adjusted for inflation.

　　Housing costs are the single largest expenditure on raising a child, averaging 71,820 U.S. dollars or 30 percent of the total cost over 17 years, the report said. Meanwhile, child care and education costs from birth through high school are the second- largest expense, accounting for 18 percent of the total cost.

　　The report, based on data from the Federal government's Consumer Expenditure Survey, noted that family income affects child-rearing costs. For families earning less than 60,640 dollars per year, the cost of raising a child averages at 173,490 dollars. For families earning more than 105,000 dollars, they can expect to spend 399, 780 dollars.

　　For the year 2012, annual child-rearing expenses per child for a middle-income, two-parent family ranged from 12,600 to 14,700 U. S. dollars.

　　The U.S. Department of Agriculture has been estimating the cost of raising a child since 1960. At that point, it cost an average of 25,230 U.S. dollars (roughly 195,690 U.S. dollars adjusted for inflation) to raise a child to age 17.