A middle-income family who had a baby in 2008 will spend about $221,190 to raise the baby through childhood, adolescence and to its 18th birthday.

In fact, it will cost $291,570 when you adjust for expected inflation, the U.S. Department of Agriculture said in a news release.

The costs include food, shelter and other necessities

The report puts the average annual cost for a child these days in two-parent family between $11,610 and $13,480, depending on age.

Figures in the report, which the USDA has issued annually since 1960, are used to set child-support and foster care payments.

Families that earn less than $56,000 a year will spend about $160,000 through the high school years. Higher income families tend to spend more.

In 1960, a middle-income family could have expected to spend $25,230 -- $183,509 in 2008 dollars.

Housing costs are the biggest expense, averaging $69,660 or 32 percent of the total cost over 17 years. Food and child care or education each averaged 16 percent of the total expenditure.

College educations are not included in the figures.

The USDA said it plans to update its online calculator of the costs of raising a child, which can be individualized with factors such as being a single parent or where you live.