Here are the most and least expensive U.S. cities for raising a child

Parents know that raising a child is expensive, but exactly how much does the annual cost of food, childcare and other expenses add up to?

A new analysis from SmartAsset crunched data from 48 of the largest U.S. cities to find out how much money parents across the country are spending annually on raising their children. The answer: families on average spend more than $26,000 a year on child-rearing costs, the personal finance site found.

The study also found that such expenses can fluctuate sharply year to year. In St. Louis, Missouri, for example, the cost of raising a child has shot up over 20% over the last year.