At ₩1M a month, raising a child to college graduation costs ₩264M. How to calculate it and what it leaves out
Child-rearing costs are paid month by month, so the full size is hard to picture. Multiplied across the years, the scale shows up.
How to calculate total child-rearing cost
Total = monthly spend per child × 12 × remaining years × number of children
Remaining years is the end age minus the child’s current age. Use 18 for high-school graduation or around 22 for college.
Totals at ₩1M a month
Assume one child, currently age 0.
| End age | Years | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 18 (high school) | 18 | ₩216M |
| 22 (college) | 22 | ₩264M |
Two children doubles it. Even at ₩700,000 a month, 22 years comes to ₩184.8M.
What the calculation simplifies
The calculator treats the monthly amount as the same every year. Real costs shift a lot with age: childcare early on, schooling and tutoring later, tuition in college. So the best input is not what you spend now but an average over the whole period.
Inflation is not included. What ₩1M covers today will cost more in ten years. Government support and tax benefits are not included either. This is not an official statistic, only your monthly figure multiplied.
Other long-running expenses, like wedding and funeral gift money, can be calculated the same way. See ₩100,000 a gift, twelve times a year, comes to ₩72M over a lifetime.
Frequently asked questions
What monthly amount should I enter?
Start with the average you have spent on the child over the past few months: food, clothes, childcare or tutoring, and allowance. If you expect education costs to rise, raise it.
What if my children are different ages?
The calculator treats all children as the same age. If the gap is large, calculate each child separately and add them.
What about graduate school or later independence?
Change the end age to whatever you need, up to 60.
To run your own numbers, use the Child-rearing cost calculator.