Atlanta is Least Expensive City to Raise Newborns

It costs $18,500 to raise a baby in metro Atlanta up to its first birthday, according to Redfin, an online real estate brokerage company.    

“Atlanta happened to be one of those areas that we’re seeing a big influx of high-tech jobs coming into the market and young families,” says Redfin agent Will Fassinger.

Some of the factors used to determine the data include costs related to housing, child care, baby necessities and utilities.

Thanks in large part to housing prices, the metro Atlanta area came out on top of Redfin’s list.

“My wife and I did relocate from the Chicago area to the Atlanta area specifically for this reason and I felt it really interesting that we saw this years ago and it’s still holding true,” says Fassinger.

Kim Crawford lives in Johns Creek.  One of her five children is five months old.  She and her husband never tallied first-year baby expenses, but she says they’ve always found ways to save.

“We try to do our shopping in bulk.  I nurse, so there’s not a formula cost, or a bottle cost.”

She also stays at home with her baby, so they’re not paying for daycare fees.

But, for some, there’s more than just a financial benefit to raising children in metro Atlanta.

“When I go to other cities with my children, people aren’t always happy to see them.  But, when I’m in Atlanta, I see so many other families and everyone is always nice to my children and I just love Atlanta in terms of just the family feel that it has,” says Barbara Comlish, a mother of two daughters in Roswell.

While Atlanta is the cheapest, San Jose, California is the most expensive major metro area for having a newborn at nearly $42,000.

This is Redfin’s first survey on this topic.