Redfin Study shows San Jose, Calif. as the Most Expensive American City to Have a Baby; U.S. Average $26,000 in Year One

Real Estate Brokerage Ranks Top 40 Most Expensive Cities based on Housing, Childcare, Baby Items, Healthcare and Utilities in Baby's First Year

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Aug 07, 2013, 09:00 ET

SEATTLE, Aug. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- Redfin (www.redfin.com), the technology-powered real estate brokerage, today released a report examining the cost of being a parent during baby's first year. It includes a ranking of 40 cities based on housing data from multiple listing services (MLSs) across the country, as well as the expense of childcare, healthcare, baby items and utilities compiled from various government and public sources.

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The most expensive US city to have a baby is San Jose, Calif.,where the average total cost of a newborn's first year was $41,600, compared to the $26,000 a new baby costs the average U.S. family. Santa Cruz, Calif. and New York City are next, where the first year costs an estimated $38,800 and $36,700, respectively.

Not surprisingly, housing and childcare costs are interchangeably the two most costly aspects of raising a new child. To determine housing costs, Redfin calculated the average cost of upgrading from a two-bedroom home to a three-bedroom home. For example, an additional bedroom in San Jose costs about $225,000 or $20,000 per year in additional mortgage payments on a 30-year fixed 4.5 percent loan. On the other end of the spectrum, a third bedroom in Las Vegas is about $44,000, or $4,000 per year.

Key findings of the report include:

Seven of the top 10 most expensive cities to have a new baby are in California: San Jose (#1), Santa Cruz (#2), San Francisco (#4), San Diego (#6), Santa Rosa (#7), Oxnard (#8), and Los Angeles (#9). In each of these cities, housing is the largest cost new parents bear during the baby's first year.
Of the 40 cities, Atlanta (#40), San Antonio (#39) and Las Vegas (#38) are the least expensive.

The top 40 most expensive cities to have a baby:

Metro Area	Total Cost	Housing	Childcare	Baby Items	Healthcare	Energy
1. San Jose, CA	$41,600	$19,900	$12,600	$5,600	$3,000	$600
2. Santa Cruz, CA	$38,800	$19,700	$9,900	$5,600	$3,000	$600
3. New York, NY	$36,700	$13,400	$13,700	$5,600	$3,000	$1,000
4. San Francisco, CA	$35,900	$15,300	$11,400	$5,600	$3,000	$700
5. Boston, MA	$34,000	$10,200	$14,400	$5,600	$3,000	$900
6. San Diego, CA	$32,700	$13,300	$10,200	$5,600	$3,000	$600
7. Santa Rosa, CA	$32,000	$11,800	$11,000	$5,600	$3,000	$600
8. Oxnard, CA	$31,400	$12,100	$10,100	$5,600	$3,000	$600
9. Los Angeles, CA	$30,100	$10,600	$10,400	$5,600	$3,000	$600
10. Washington, DC	$29,800	$9,300	$11,200	$5,600	$3,000	$700
11. Worcester, MA	$28,700	$6,300	$13,200	$5,600	$3,000	$700
12. Denver, CO	$28,200	$7,700	$11,400	$5,600	$3,000	$500
13. Seattle, WA	$27,400	$9,000	$9,100	$5,600	$3,000	$700
14. Boulder, CO	$27,300	$8,400	$9,800	$5,600	$3,000	$500
15. Salinas, CA	$27,300	$7,800	$10,300	$5,600	$3,000	$600
16. Providence, RI	$26,700	$7,400	$10,000	$5,600	$3,000	$800
17. Sacramento, CA	$26,300	$8,000	$9,200	$5,600	$3,000	$500
18. Portland, OR	$25,800	$8,000	$8,700	$5,600	$3,000	$600
19. Baltimore, MD	$25,600	$6,400	$9,900	$5,600	$3,000	$700
20. Chicago, IL	$25,500	$5,900	$10,300	$5,600	$3,000	$800
21. Modesto, CA	$24,500	$6,700	$8,600	$5,600	$3,000	$600
22. Riverside, CA	$24,500	$5,600	$9,800	$5,600	$3,000	$500
23. Fort Collins, CO	$24,400	$5,500	$9,900	$5,600	$3,000	$500
24. Stockton, CA	$24,100	$5,900	$9,200	$5,600	$3,000	$500
25. Trenton, NJ	$24,000	$6,100	$8,400	$5,600	$3,000	$1,000
26. Greeley, CO	$23,300	$3,800	$10,500	$5,600	$3,000	$500
27. Bremerton, WA	$22,700	$5,100	$8,500	$5,600	$3,000	$600
28. Hagerstown, MD	$22,600	$4,600	$8,900	$5,600	$3,000	$500
29. Philadelphia, PA	$22,600	$5,200	$8,100	$5,600	$3,000	$800
30. Raleigh, NC	$22,500	$6,800	$6,600	$5,600	$3,000	$500
31. Salem, OR	$22,400	$5,500	$7,900	$5,600	$3,000	$500
32. Charlotte, NC	$22,100	$6,500	$6,600	$5,600	$3,000	$500
33. Phoenix, AZ	$22,000	$6,200	$6,800	$5,600	$3,000	$500
34. Austin, TX	$21,700	$6,100	$6,500	$5,600	$3,000	$600
35. Miami, FL	$21,300	$6,600	$5,500	$5,600	$3,000	$700
36. Durham, NC	$21,100	$5,500	$6,500	$5,600	$3,000	$500
37. Houston, TX	$19,700	$4,900	$5,600	$5,600	$3,000	$600
38. Las Vegas, NV	$19,500	$3,900	$6,500	$5,600	$3,000	$600
39. San Antonio, TX	$18,700	$4,100	$5,600	$5,600	$3,000	$500
40. Atlanta, GA	$18,500	$4,500	$5,000	$5,600	$3,000	$500

To read the report including the full methodology, click the following link. http://blog.redfin.com/blog/2013/08/baby-youre-expensive.html

About Redfin

Redfin (www.redfin.com) is a technology-powered real estate broker that represents people buying and selling homes. Founded and run by technologists, Redfin has a team of experienced, full-service real estate agents who are advocates, not sales-people, earning customer-satisfaction bonuses, not commissions. Redfin's online tools feature all the broker-listed homes for sale, as well as for-sale-by-owner properties that don't pay brokers a commission. The company serves 22 U.S. markets and has closed more than $8 billion in home sales. In 2012, Redfin was named one of The DIGITAL 100: World's Most Valuable Private Tech Companies by Business Insider. Follow us on our blog (blog.redfin.com), Twitter (@redfin), and Facebook (facebook.com/redfin), Redfin Collections (www.redfin.com/collections), and on our mobile apps (www.redfin.com/mobile).

SOURCE Redfin