Back to School Cost Calculator
Estimate the cost of kitting out a child for the school year, by grade and activity.
Last updated · View algorithm, constants and default inputs (JSON)
Breakdown
About this calculator
Enter your own per-child budgets for supplies, clothing, technology and activities. The totals multiply those amounts by the number of children; lunches use the daily amount and school days you enter.
Worked example
calculated with the default values below
Number of children 2 · Supplies per child 80 $ · Clothing per child 250 $ · Technology per child 0 $ · Activities and fees per child 120 $ · School lunch per child per day 3.5 $ · School days per year 180 days Total per year 2,160 $ · Supplies 160 $ · Clothing 500 $ · Technology 0 $ · Activities and fees 240 $ · School lunches for the year 1,260 $ · Cost per child 1,080 $
General background references
Disclaimer
These calculators give general estimates. Sizing, pricing, availability and standards vary by brand, retailer and country, so treat the output as a starting point and confirm it against the seller's or authority's own figures.
Implementation source
This record describes the implementation used by this page. It is not independent validation. External references, when available, support only the stated formula or definition; estimates and custom rules retain their own assumptions.
Formula and variables
T = c × g × B_b + c × B_t + p × c × d
- c
- Number of children
- g
- Grade-level factor
- B_b
- Supplies + clothing + activities budgets
- B_t
- Technology budget
- p
- Lunch cost per day
- d
- School days
- T
- Total back-to-school cost
g: preschool 0.7, elementary 1, middle 1.15, high 1.35, college 2.2; the technology budget is not multiplied by g.
Frequently asked questions
How are the yearly costs totaled?
The calculator multiplies each per-child budget for supplies, clothing, technology and activities by the number of children, then adds lunch cost per child per day × children × school days. No grade-level multiplier is applied; enter the amounts that fit your school and family.