Throughout the Northeast, the average cost of raising a child to the age of 17 jumped from $149,700 to $191,490 (in two-parent households earning less than $56,000 per year) between 2005 and 2009.
The good news, as far as Brooklyn is concerned, is that the increased investment is offering increased returns: Graduation rates are on the rise (up to 56 percent in 2009 over 49 percent in 2005) and rates of dropping out are on a corresponding decline.
In the 2008-2009 academic year, Brooklyn high schools graduated 16,542 students (out of 185,996 statewide). Of those 16,542, 65 percent go on to higher education, four percent go to work in Brooklyn, 0.8 percent enters the military and 30% remain unemployed (or engaged in “other” activities).
Unfortunately, The Brooklyn borough has one of the highest rates of juvenile detention. In regards to youth violence, four percent of Brooklyn youths (aged seven to 21) carried a gun and 12 percent were physically hurt by a boy or girlfriend in 2007.
Furthermore, despite a decline in juvenile detention since 2003, the costs to the city have steadily increased:
Statistics drawn from:
CUNY Brooklyn Center for the Study of Brooklyn: “Youth in Brooklyn: Demographic Characteristics”
New York City Independent Budget Office: “IBO Fiscal Brief, January 2008 (Revised)”
United States Department of Agriculture Center for Nutrition Policy and Promotion
New York City Department of Juvenile Justice- Youth Population Overview FY 2008
Additional information from NYC Criminal Justice Coordinator via IBO
Idil Abshir, Alex Gecan, Lynn La and Ceylan Yeginsu contributed to this report.
Go back to Part I “Out of Pocket” to see how much money Brooklyn residents make and spend.
Read Part II “Housing in Brooklyn is All About Location” to know how the housing market has fared since the housing bubble burst.
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