In this brief, we explore how much the federal government invested in children in fiscal year 2024 and how this investment has changed in recent years. We also describe the composition of this spending and summarize potential implications for future spending under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA).

Why This Matters

Public spending on children represents an investment in our nation’s future. Government programs that support children’s health, education, economic security, development, and well-being can help ensure that children have the opportunity to meet their potential—benefiting them, their families, and society more broadly. With the OBBBA implementing changes to major spending programs, understanding the current context of spending on children will inform how spending may evolve in the future.

What We Found

Our analyses found the following:

• Spending on children made up 8 percent of the fiscal year 2024 federal budget, down from 9 percent in 2023.
• Across program outlays and tax reductions, the federal government invested an average of $8,570 per child in fiscal year 2024. Per-child spending has been on a decline since reaching a peak in 2021, due in part to the expiration of many pandemic recovery efforts.
• Tax provisions make up about one-third of federal spending on children. Beyond tax benefits, Medicaid and SNAP are the two largest spending programs for children.
• More data, especially since the enactment of OBBBA, are needed to understand the future trajectory of spending on children.

How We Did It

The Kids Share team compiles and analyzes annual data on federal programs serving children and estimates expenditures on children as well as other categories of federal spending. The team adjusts these estimates for inflation and for the population of children in the US to better understand how spending on children has changed over time.