The Real Cost of Adoption

Couples choose to adopt a child for a variety of reasons. California residents Brentt Hoover and his wife Christy, for example, decided to adopt back in 2004 when they wanted a guarantee that their family would grow.

“Adoption gave us a clear outcome,” Hoover says, explaining that he and his wife wanted to avoid the uncertainty associated with fertility clinics. Their decision to adopt ultimately united them with three beautiful children, two boys and a girl, ages 6, 4 and ten months.

Admittedly, there were costs -- costs that Hoover, a financial planner at MetLife, now helps other adopting families to understand.

So, how much exactly does it cost to adopt a child?

A 2010 survey conducted by Adoptive Families, a national adoption magazine, showed that on average, most U.S. families must finance between $20,000 and $25,000 during the process. However, according to Jeanne Tate, spokesperson for Heart of Adoption, the cost can climb much higher.  

“The price of adoption is wide-ranging,” Tate says. “It could cost you between $0 and $50,000 to adopt domestically depending on what kind of adoption you pursue.”

The costs also may vary depending on an adopted child’s age, gender, race or ethnicity. Younger girls tend to cost more and it is particularly troubling to learn that, according to one study, adopting a black child in America tends to cost about $8,000 less than a white one.  That’s a subject which we will tackle for in depth in a future story.