Only 7% of parents have big families, like JD and Usha Vance. How to make it work when raising one kid can cost $320,000

Will Kenton

Sun, February 22, 2026 at 9:30 PM GMT+9 5 min read

When Usha and Vice President JD Vance recently announced they were expecting their fourth child, the news highlighted a growing divide in American life.

On one hand, there is a renewed cultural and political push — championed by Vance and high-profile billionaires like Elon Musk — to celebrate the return of the large family (1).

The Trump administration is actively promoting a baby boom, encouraging parents to sign up for Trump accounts on their taxes, with the Treasury Department contributing $1,000 into an index fund for every eligible American child born from Jan. 1, 2025 to Dec. 31, 2028 (2).

Many Americans would love to have large families. According to one Gallup poll, 45% of respondents said having three or more kids would be ideal. But in reality, that’s rare. Gallup research shows only 7% of parents have four children, and a mere 5% have five or more (3).

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That could be because the lived reality for most households is that the logistics and costs of parenting have shifted from manageable to punishing.

Today, large families may be a luxury reserved for those with significant financial cushions like JD Vance and Elon Musk themselves.

In a not-at-all surprising development, news has broken recently about billionaires, mostly men like Musk, who are fathering not just four or five but dozens of children through surrogates (4).

According to the Economic Policy Institute, it takes an annual income of $177,600 to adequately support a family of four in Washington, D.C. That’s more than double the median household income in the U.S. in 2025, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.

Here’s a breakdown of some of the most significant costs involved in raising a large family, and how to make it work.

The punishing cost of raising three or more kids

According to Northwestern Mutual, the cost of raising one child to age 18 is approximately $320,000 (5).

There are some economies of scale if you have two children. You may be able to reuse baby furniture, strollers and hand-me-down clothes. If you have an employer-sponsored family plan, your health insurance will cover your children.

The most significant savings will be on your home if it’s big enough for two kids, as your housing costs are fixed.

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But parents who want three or four kids, like the Vances, likely need a bigger home – and whether they’re buying or renting, that home will be one of the largest line items in their budget.

If you require childcare for multiple children under the age of five, the cost of center-based care can easily exceed a parent’s take-home pay, turning the big-family dream into a cash-flow crisis (6).

To cope, middle-income parents may be forced to reduce their working hours or leave the workforce entirely, shrinking the household income at the exact moment expenses are rising.

This has created a demographic landscape where large families are increasingly concentrated among higher-income households or those with extraordinary support systems, such as nearby grandparents who can provide free full-time care.

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How to maximize your budget for a large family

For those who are committed to raising four or more children, success requires more than coupon clipping.

Modelling real costs and building a financial buffer early can also help parents navigate the transition from a standard household to a large family.

Here are some ways parents can make it work:

**Maximize every available tax benefit**. This includes understanding the specific rules for the Child Tax Credit and the Child and Dependent Care Tax Credit, as well as utilizing any employer-sponsored dependent-care flexible spending accounts (7).

**Get creative with childcare stacking**. This might involve nanny shares with other families, split-shift parenting where spouses work different hours to minimize paid care, or aligning work schedules to reduce the total number of hours needed from outside providers.

**Automate long-term savings through 529 plans and Trump Accounts** early in a child’s life. This ensures that savings are treated as a non-negotiable expense rather than something that only happens if there is money left at the end of the month.

**Choose stable housing** based on school quality and a manageable commute to prevent the need for expensive private schooling or the high cost of moving as the family grows.

A larger family is still possible, but it requires a clear-eyed assessment of your earnings ability as a family and outside resources you can rely on.

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Article sources

We rely only on vetted sources and credible third-party reporting. For details, see our editorial ethics and guidelines.

Marketwatch (1); U.S. Treasurey (2); Gallup (3); Wall Street Journal (4); Northwest Mutual (5); Pew Research (6) TurboTax (7)

This article provides information only and should not be construed as advice. It is provided without warranty of any kind.

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