What Is the Average Child Support Payment per Month?

The average child support payment per month in the United States is $671, based on 2023 Census Bureau data on payments custodial parents actually received.¹ That figure has climbed from $441 in 2021.² It’s a useful benchmark, but it won’t tell you what your own order will look like. The number that lands in your case depends on your state’s formula, both parents’ incomes, how custody is split, and how many children are involved.

What the $671 Figure Actually Measures

The Census Bureau arrived at $671 by surveying custodial parents who received child support in 2023, with total cash payments reaching $28 billion nationwide.¹ Two things about that measurement matter.

First, the range behind the average is wide. A parent earning $30,000 and a parent earning $200,000 produce very different orders, and an average across all of them reflects neither. Second, the figure captures what parents received, not what courts ordered. Many parents collect less than their full order, so the average of received payments runs below the average of ordered amounts. Treat $671 as a rough sense of what’s typical nationally, not as a prediction for your situation.

How Your State Calculates Child Support

Every state uses one of three models, and the choice of model matters more than any national average. Two families with identical incomes can end up with very different orders depending on where they live.

Income Shares Model

Most states use the Income Shares Model. It combines both parents’ incomes to estimate what they would have spent on the child in an intact household, then splits that total obligation between the parents in proportion to each one’s share of combined income.³ If one parent earns 70% of the combined income, that parent covers 70% of the obligation.

Percentage of Income Model

A smaller group of states bases support on the non-custodial parent’s income alone, on the theory that the custodial parent already contributes through daily care, food, and housing.⁴ Some states apply a flat percentage; others use a sliding scale that shifts across income brackets.³

Melson Formula

A handful of states use the Melson Formula, which first sets aside enough income for each parent’s own basic needs before calculating what’s available for support.³

What Drives Your Actual Monthly Amount

Whichever model your state uses, the same variables feed into the number.

Parental income. Wages, salary, bonuses, commissions, self-employment earnings, investment returns, and rental income all count. Courts look at actual earnings and, in some cases, at what you could reasonably be earning if you’re voluntarily underemployed.
Number of children. The obligation rises with more children, but not in a straight line. The per-child amount usually drops as the number of children grows.
Custody and parenting time. Significant shared time often adjusts the paying parent’s amount downward, since each household covers expenses during its own parenting time.
Childcare costs. Daycare, after-school care, and summer programs typically get split proportionally.
Health insurance and medical costs. The cost of adding a child to a health plan, plus unreimbursed medical expenses, factors in.
Extraordinary expenses. Special education, ongoing medical treatment, and similar costs can push the order upward.
Existing support obligations. Support already being paid for children from another relationship is usually credited in a new calculation.

How Child Support Is Taxed

It isn’t. Child support is tax-neutral on both sides: the recipient doesn’t report it as income, and the payer can’t deduct it.⁵ This is different from the older rules for alimony, and the distinction trips people up at tax time. Leave child support out of your gross income if you receive it, and don’t try to deduct it if you pay it.

Changing an Order When Your Situation Changes

Orders aren’t frozen, but they don’t adjust on their own either. To change one, you have to go back to court and show a substantial change in circumstances — job loss, a significant raise, a serious health issue, or a change in custody.

The trap is timing. A modification only takes effect going forward, usually from the date you filed or notified the other parent. Federal law bars states from reducing arrears that have already accrued. Under 42 U.S.C. 666(a)(9), every missed payment becomes a judgment the moment it’s due, fully enforceable, and no court can wipe it out retroactively.⁶ Bankruptcy won’t discharge it either. Lose your job in January, wait until June to file, and you still owe the full original amount for those five months.

If your finances change, file for modification right away. Waiting builds a debt no court can erase later.

When the Obligation Ends

Child support typically ends when the child reaches the age of majority, which varies by state and generally falls between 18 and 21. Some states extend the obligation when the child is still in high school at 18, and some allow support to continue through college in certain circumstances. Children who marry, enlist, or become financially self-sufficient before the cutoff may be considered emancipated, ending the obligation early.

Reaching the end date doesn’t erase an unpaid balance. Interest accrues on arrears in many states, often somewhere between 4% and 12% per year, so a lingering balance can grow substantially.

What Happens If Payments Aren’t Made

Enforcement is aggressive, and penalties escalate the longer someone falls behind.

Collection Tools

State agencies can withhold income directly from paychecks, intercept federal and state tax refunds, seize bank accounts, place liens on property, intercept unemployment benefits and lottery winnings, and suspend driver’s, professional, and recreational licenses.⁷ Delinquent support also gets reported to credit bureaus, which can hit the owing parent’s credit score and complicate loans, housing, and some employment.

How Much of a Paycheck Can Be Garnished

Federal law allows a larger share of a paycheck to be garnished for child support than for any other debt. Under the Consumer Credit Protection Act, the ceiling depends on whether you’re supporting another spouse or child and whether you’re more than 12 weeks behind.⁸

50% of disposable earnings if you’re supporting another spouse or dependent child and are current or less than 12 weeks behind
55% if you’re supporting another spouse or dependent child and more than 12 weeks behind
60% if you’re not supporting another spouse or dependent child and are less than 12 weeks behind
65% if you’re not supporting another spouse or dependent child and more than 12 weeks behind

Ordinary consumer debt is capped at 25% for comparison.

Passport Denial

Once arrears exceed $2,500, the state agency can certify the debt to the federal government, which triggers denial or revocation of the owing parent’s passport.⁹ The program has been in place since 1996. If you owe enough and try to fly internationally, you may find out at the airport.

Federal Criminal Charges

Willfully failing to pay support for a child in another state can be a federal crime. Under 18 U.S.C. 228, a first offense where the debt exceeds $5,000 or has gone unpaid for more than a year carries up to six months in prison. A second offense, or a case where the debt exceeds $10,000 or has gone unpaid for more than two years, is a felony punishable by up to two years in prison.¹⁰ Conviction also triggers mandatory restitution for the full unpaid balance.

1
U.S. Census Bureau. Child Support Received: 2023
2
U.S. Census Bureau. Child Support Received: 2021
3
Justia. How to Calculate Child Support Under State Laws
4
Administration for Children and Families. How Is the Amount of My Child Support Order Set
5
Internal Revenue Service. Alimony, Child Support, Court Awards, Damages
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 USC 666 – Requirement of Statutorily Prescribed Procedures to Improve Effectiveness of Child Support Enforcement
7
Congressional Research Service. The Child Support Enforcement Program: Summary of Laws
8
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 1673 – Restriction on Garnishment
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 42 US Code 652 – Duties of Secretary
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 18 USC 228 – Failure to Pay Legal Child Support Obligations