Kids’ Share 2024: Federal expenditures on children through 2023 and future projections

“Public spending on children usually represents an effort to invest in the nation’s future. To inform policymakers, children’s advocates, and the general public about how public funds are spent on children (from birth through age 18), this 18th edition of the annual Kids’ Share report provides a new analysis of federal expenditures on children from 1960 to 2023. Our findings reveal how public expenditures shifted in response to the COVID-19 pandemic and how federal expenditures on children are projected to unfold over the next decade under current law.

Why This Matters

Investments supporting children’s healthy development and human potential can promote their well-being and help them grow into the next generation of adults and workers, leading to a stronger workforce and economy.

Key Takeaways

• • The $567 billion in federal outlays on children in 2023 was 9 percent of all federal outlays. The children’s share of federal outlays is projected to decline to 6 percent over the next decade, while interest payments on the national debt are expected to grow from 11 percent to 17 percent.
  • Federal expenditures per child were about $8,990 in 2023, continuing the steep decline since the pandemic-related high reached in 2021. Most of the temporary relief funding had been spent down by 2023, and federal expenditures on children are projected to level off in 2024.
  • Despite declining in total value, tax provisions remained the largest category of federal support for children in 2023, accounting for nearly one-third of all federal expenditures on children. Health, education, nutrition, and income security were the next largest categories of federal expenditures on children.
  • By 2034, all categories of expenditures on children as a share of GDP are projected to decline below current levels, and all except health are also projected to decline below prepandemic levels.”