How Much Does Adoption Cost?
The results of the Adoptive Families Adoption Cost Survey
From the 2008 Adoption Guide
The average cost of adoption, as reported in the latest Adoptive Families adoption cost survey (concluded in November, 2007), was between $20,000 and $30,000 (before the federal tax credit and employee adoption benefits).
Highlights of the adoption cost survey:
- The majority of domestic newborn adoptions cost less than $25,000, while more than 75 percent of international adoptions cost more than $20,000.
- The majority of adoptions from Korea cost between $20,000 and $30,000.
- The majority of adoptions from Ethiopia and China cost between $15,000 and $25,000.
- The majority of adoptions from Russian and Guatemala cost more than $30,000.
- 38 percent of domestic adopters had at least one "false start," in which adoptive parents worked with one or more birthmothers before a match that succeeded.
- The majority of "false starts" cost less than $5,000.
See adoption expenses by category (and download budget worksheets).
| Total Adoption Costs | Domestic Newborn | China | Guatemala | Ethiopia | Korea | Russia | |||||||||||||
| <$20,000 | 48% | 34% | 1% | 43% | 7% | 4% | |||||||||||||
|
$20,000- $25,000 |
19% | 44% | 1% | 41% | 47% | 1% | |||||||||||||
|
$25,000- $30,000 |
9.7% | 18% | 23% | 16% | 40% | 10% | |||||||||||||
| $30,000+ | 23.3% | 4% | 74% | 0 | 6% | 85% | |||||||||||||
See Affording Adoption to find tips for financing an adoption .
Read how other parents have funded their adoptions.
Find ways to lower adoption travel costs.
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