How Much Is Child Support Per Child? A 2026 State Comparison
Per-child percentages for the six percentage-of-income states, how Income Shares states price each additional child, and why the per-child cost falls as family size grows.
There is no single “per child” amount in the United States — each state prices children differently. But the six percentage-of-income states publish flat per-child rates, which makes the comparison easy and useful for planning.
Per-child rates in percentage-of-income states
| State | 1 child | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5+ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Texas | 20% | 25% | 30% | 35% | 40% |
| Wisconsin | 17% | 25% | 29% | 31% | 34% |
| Alaska | 20% | 27% | 33% | — | — |
| Mississippi | 14% | 20% | 22% | 24% | 26% |
| Nevada | 18% | 25% | 29% | 31% | 33% (up to 37% for 7) |
| North Dakota | graduated net-income schedule with self-support reserve | — | — | — | — |
Note the pattern: each additional child adds a smaller increment. Two children cost 25% of income in Texas, not 40% — the second child adds five percentage points, not twenty.
What two examples look like at $6,000/month
Texas (net resources): $1,200/month for one child (20%), $1,500 for two (25%). Wisconsin (gross): $1,020 for one child (17%), $1,500 for two (25%). Same income, different model, similar range — but in Income Shares states the amount also depends on the other parent’s income, so the per-child figure is not fixed the way it is here.
Income Shares states: per-child amounts come from the schedule
In the 41 Income Shares states plus D.C., the per-child amount is read off the state’s official Schedule of Basic Obligations at your combined income, then split proportionally. The schedule is not linear either — the marginal cost of a second child is typically lower than the first. How the Income Shares model works walks through the four steps.