Average Cost of Having a Baby in the US

Having a baby with employer-sponsored health insurance costs $20,416 in total medical spending, including $2,743 paid out of pocket for pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum care. Adding a child's medical care through age two brings total medical costs to $36,991, with $4,254 paid out of pocket.

The figures reflect medical and insurance costs for people with employer-sponsored coverage. New parents spend additional money on diapers, formula, clothing, furniture and other baby gear in the first year, which aren't captured in health care totals. Pregnancy and childbirth costs come on top of standard health insurance premiums families already pay.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports 3,628,934 births in the U.S. in 2024, a 1% increase from 2023. Most births were vaginal, but 32.4% were Cesarean deliveries in 2024, up slightly from 32.3% in 2023.

Families with employer-sponsored insurance paid these average costs for pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum care, based on claims data from 2021 to 2023.

C-sections cost about $13,000 more in total health spending than vaginal deliveries and about $500 more out of pocket. Delivery costs include hospital charges and professional services from physicians, anesthesiologists and other clinicians during the hospital stay.

Many families pay more than the $2,743 national out-of-pocket average for prenatal care, delivery and postpartum visits combined. Final bills depend on plan design, including deductibles, coinsurance rates, out-of-pocket maximums and whether all services are in network.

Worker deductibles keep rising, according to employer health benefits surveys. Families pay a large amount out of pocket before coverage kicks in, and those with high-deductible plans or complicated pregnancies often pay far above average, particularly when hospital stays run long or additional procedures come up.

Out-of-pocket costs span nearly $1,700 across states, from $974 in Michigan to $2,685 in Nebraska. A 2020 analysis of employer-sponsored insurance claims found Great Plains and Southern states at the high end of that range, while Mid-Atlantic and Great Lakes states posted much lower average bills.

Choosing the right health plan before pregnancy can lower these costs.

*The state-level cost data comes from a 2020 analysis of out-of-pocket childbirth costs by state for people with employer-sponsored insurance, assuming no complications. More recent national averages from 2021 to 2023 show higher out-of-pocket costs of $2,563 for vaginal delivery and $3,071 for C-section, so current state averages are likely higher, even if relative rankings are similar.

Note: Data for Alabama, North Dakota and Wyoming weren't available for this analysis.

State-level childbirth cost differences come down mainly to price, not volume. For vaginal births, what hospitals charge and what insurers have negotiated drive most of the gap. Some hospitals and metro areas charge two to four times more than others for comparable deliveries.

For families on employer-sponsored plans, those price gaps land directly in their bills. Coverage also varies by state for pregnancy-related benefits such as home visits, genetic screenings, dental care and diabetes monitoring supplies. Those differences affect total spending from prenatal care through postpartum recovery.

Medical expenses extend well beyond delivery. For families with employer-sponsored insurance, pregnancy, childbirth and postpartum care average $20,416 in total health costs, with $2,743 paid out of pocket.

Children's medical care in the first two years adds another $16,575 in total health spending and $1,511 in out-of-pocket costs for families with employer-sponsored insurance. Pregnancy through a child's second birthday averages $36,991 in medical spending and $4,254 out of pocket for families with employer-sponsored insurance.

Add your newborn to your health insurance on time to start coverage from day one and avoid gaps in care or unexpected bills.

For 2025, individual out-of-pocket maximums for marketplace health plans are capped at $9,200 for in-network care. The cap rises to $10,600 in 2026. Even if your delivery becomes more complicated and expensive than expected, your in-network out-of-pocket costs on a marketplace plan won't exceed that limit.

Out-of-pocket maximums for employer-sponsored plans differ by design, but most non-grandfathered plans fall at or below federal limits tied to marketplace caps. Those limits put a ceiling on what families pay during high-risk or complicated pregnancies. Reaching that ceiling still means a large bill, and many new parents end up carrying medical debt.

MoneyGeek uses out-of-pocket and total health care cost data from the Peterson-KFF Health System Tracker for pregnancy, childbirth, postpartum care and early childhood medical expenses. The analysis is based on 2021 to 2023 Merative/IBM MarketScan claims data for people with employer-sponsored insurance and their children up to age two.

State-level delivery cost data comes from the Health Care Cost Institute's 2020 analysis of out-of-pocket childbirth costs by state for people with employer-sponsored insurance, assuming no complications. Data for Alabama, North Dakota and Wyoming weren't available in that study.

The figures match other research on employer-sponsored maternity coverage and childbirth price variation. The analysis covers only families with employer-sponsored coverage and doesn't reflect costs for people on Medicaid, those using marketplace plans without employer contributions or uninsured individuals.