Why So Many Michigan Adults Are Choosing to Remain Childfree

Remember when we talked about the true cost of raising a kid in Michigan?

Yeah, as a childfree adult myself, I'm not exactly shocked to see that the number of couples in Michigan who are opting to go kid-free is increasing. Because you know what else is increasing? Literally the cost of everything else. 

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According to WOOD TV8, the data comes from a study by researchers at Michigan State University who found,

19.95% of Michigan adults are childfree and do not plan to have kids in the future. That’s second only to California at 22%. That compares to Louisiana, where only 9.4% of their adults are childfree and plan to stay that way. -- Matt Jaworowski, WOOD TV8

That means 1 in 5 Michiganders plan to never have kids. Why?

At least in my case, I feel like I'm barely getting by myself, I can't imagine putting someone else first in everything I do. I also have a chronic illness, and managing my Type 1 Diabetes is anything but cheap. Add in the cost of student loans, rising rent, skyrocketing gas prices, and just the general state of the world-- why would I want to bring another person into existence against their will?

And to absolutely no one's surprise, the cost of raising a child has only continued to climb. LendingTree found that the cost increased nearly 20% between 2016 and 2021, with families across the country expected to spend an average of $237,482 to raise a child through age 18. I don't even want to know what that number looks like now, adjusted for inflation.

Why aren't more Michiganders having kids? Because it's just too darn expensive to live, as is.