As the summer season comes to a close, families with school-aged children start to think about upcoming back-to-school expenses: laptops, notebooks, clothing and shoes, water bottles, backpacks, and all of the other classics.
While most families consider initial purchases, many fail to include the various other costs that usually begin a few months into the school year and sometimes extend to the very end. Consider these the second, and sometimes even third, wave of back-to-school costs.
What exactly are these costs? They can include additional required technology, sports, clubs and other extracurriculars, field trips, and other expenses that parents may not anticipate.
In this article, CreditNinja will dive into the numbers of average expected costs for back-to-school expenses in 2026.
What Do Essential Back-to-School Costs Look Like This Year?
Let’s dive into what families may be spending on essential school expenses in 2026. According to the National Retail Federation, here is what families could be facing, depending on the ages of their children:
Elementary School Through High School Costs Budgeted
Families with students in elementary through high school plan to spend an average of $863.86 on back-to-school items this year, up slightly from $858.07 in 2025.
These families plan to spend an average of:
- $293.11 on electronics
- $250.29 on clothing and accessories
- $174.01 on shoes
- $146.45 on school supplies
College Back-to-School Costs Budgeted
Families with college-aged students plan to spend an average of $1,437.79.
The breakdown averages as follows:
- $341.95 on electronics
- $194.00 on dorm or apartment furnishings
- $182.39 on clothing and accessories
- $153.91 on food
- $133.34 on personal care items
What Do These Totals Look Like as a Whole?
College students and their families are expected to spend a record $103.5 billion, while K-12 back-to-school spending will reach a record $43.3 billion in 2026, up from $39.4 billion last year and surpassing the previous high of $41.5 billion set in 2023.
Does This Record Spending Mean More Room in People’s Budgets?
At first glance, record spending might seem like a sign that families have more money to spend than in previous years. But Deloitte’s 2026 Back-to-School Survey paints a much different picture.
Parents expect to spend $557 per child, essentially unchanged from last year. However, once inflation is factored in, that represents about a 6% decline in real spending.
In other words, spending totals may be hitting records because prices are higher, not because families suddenly have more money to work with. That represents an important shift in the story these numbers tell.
And those planned purchases are only part of the reality. Unexpected or overlooked back-to-school expenses can still pop up, putting even more pressure on already-stretched budgets. So what’s driving the increase in the cost of the same school supplies parents have to purchase?
Looking at School Supply Cost Increases in 2026
An analysis from the Groundwork Collaborative and The Century Foundation found that the price of a typical school supply list rose 7.7% from last year. And that is just an average; some supplies saw significant increases, according to the data:
- Lunch boxes went up 27%.
- Notebooks went up 23%.
- Index cards went up 22%.
- Notebook paper went up 20%.
Even though these percentages on their own may not seem like a huge deal, they add up quickly and can make a real difference in the total cost of a shopping list.
A FinanceBuzz price study found a 20-item supply list averaged $123.70 this year, up 20% from $102.87 in 2025, and the same list varied by more than $100 depending on the store.
What’s driving these increases in school-supply prices? There isn’t one single cause. Inflation, higher production and transportation costs, and tariffs on imported goods can all contribute to higher retail prices.
Tariffs may be particularly relevant for school supplies because many of these products, or the materials used to make them, are imported. When manufacturers and retailers face higher costs, some of those increases may ultimately be passed on to consumers.
Additional Back-to-School Costs in 2026: Extracurriculars
The costs that come a few months after back-to-school shopping is done and continue throughout the school year can sometimes be more expensive than the initial school supply list.
The Aspen Institute’s Project Play survey provides some numbers from past years to put these costs into perspective:
- The survey found the average U.S. family spent $1,016 on a child’s primary sport in 2024, a 46% increase in just five years.
An older University of Michigan Mott Poll on Children’s Health also helps illustrate how additional sports expenses can add up. The poll found that pay-to-play athletic fees averaged $126 per child, and once equipment, travel, and related costs were added, the average reached approximately $401 per child.
And that may be just one sport: CivicScience polling shows 65% of kids in organized sports play at least two, and 30% play three or more.
For students who are interested in the arts, costs can be high, too. According to Northwestern Mutual, private music lessons can run $280 to $400 or more per month. Families may also have to account for instruments, supplies, and travel expenses.
Because many of these costs don’t show up until well into the school year, families may overlook them until they arise. And some families, especially lower-income households, may not be able to afford to have their children participate in certain activities at all.
An older University of Michigan Mott Poll on Children’s Health found that only 30% of lower-income families had a child in school sports, compared with 51% of higher-income families, and 1 in 7 parents whose kids didn’t play cited cost as the reason. While these figures provide useful context about how costs can affect participation, they should not be interpreted as 2026 participation rates.
Households With Higher Incomes Are Also Struggling This Year
It isn’t just lower- or middle-income families that are struggling to pay for their school-aged children in 2026. Here is a quick breakdown from Deloitte’s back-to-school survey:
- Among households earning $200,000 or more, 63% say they simply have less money to spend.
- 67% of parents earning $100,000 to $199,000 who plan to spend less on back-to-school this year cite concerns about the economy.
Meanwhile, lower- and middle-income parents expect to spend more, not necessarily because they want to, but because higher prices are putting additional pressure on their budgets.
Aside from the financial strain, parents are also feeling social pressure to spend.
A Beyond Finance survey of 2,000 parents found that 70% feel pressure to buy the same clothes, tech, and supplies as other families, while 61% admit they’ve bought something simply so their child wouldn’t feel left out.
More than half also worry their child will be judged for reusing last year’s clothes or supplies. The peer and family dynamics may be nothing new, but the price tags attached to keeping up have increased significantly.
With those pressures piling on top of rising costs, it’s perhaps no surprise that back-to-school shopping has become a significant source of financial stress for many parents.
How Families Are Paying for These Costs
Credit cards and Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) services have become one way some American households manage rising back-to-school costs they may otherwise have difficulty affording.
A Qualtrics survey conducted on behalf of Intuit Credit Karma in 2026 found 45% of parents plan to take on debt for back-to-school costs, up from 34% just two years ago.
- With credit card usage, 48% of parents have opened or plan to open a new credit card, or have raised or plan to raise their credit limit specifically to cover school expenses.
- With BNPL services, an Omnisend survey found 45% of households plan to use BNPL for back-to-school purchases in 2026, up from 39% in 2025.
- Nearly one in three expect BNPL to cover more than half of their total school spending.
The debt numbers also highlight a larger problem: a third of parents say they can’t afford back-to-school shopping at all, and nearly half expect to sacrifice essentials like groceries or bills to make room.
Credit cards and BNPL services can make it easier to spread purchases out over time, but relying on financing for routine or essential expenses can add another financial obligation to household budgets. This pattern also extends beyond the back-to-school season.
Actions to Take to Make Back-to-School Costs More Manageable
While financing can be an easy and fast way to pay for things, it may not always be the best option for your financial health. Instead, here are some approaches that can help:
Budget for the Entire School Year, Not One Weekend or Month
Take last year’s total school spending, supplies, fees, activities, and technology, and divide that total by 12 or by the number of months in the school year. Planning ahead can help families prepare for costs that may come up throughout the year.
Ask the School for the Full Costs Upfront
Schools and districts may be able to provide information about upcoming lab fees, activity fees, field trip costs, and other expenses. Getting that information early can make it easier to plan instead of dealing with expenses one at a time.
Price the Full Cost of an Activity
Registration is rarely the only cost associated with a sport or other extracurricular activity. Ask about uniforms, equipment, travel, and tournament fees before committing so you have a better idea of the activity’s total cost.
Ask About Waivers and Consider Equipment Rentals
Some schools and sports programs offer fee waivers or financial assistance for eligible families. Ask your school or program what options are available. Equipment swaps, gear libraries, rentals, and community sports organizations may also help families reduce seasonal costs.
Compare Retailers
With a $100+ gap between retailers on the same supply list, price-checking two or three stores can potentially lead to significant savings. Look at rewards programs, sales, and student discounts as well.
The Real Cost of Back-to-School Goes Beyond August
In 2026, higher prices, extracurricular costs, school fees, technology, and other expenses are stretching budgets well beyond the initial shopping trip.
And for many parents, the pressure isn’t just financial. There’s also the desire to make sure their children have what they need, can participate in activities, and don’t feel left out by their peers. When those costs arrive throughout the year, it can be easy to turn to credit cards or BNPL services simply to keep up. However, planning ahead may help families better prepare for school-related costs as they arise.
Preparing for back-to-school expenses should extend beyond buying notebooks, clothes, and a new backpack in August. Consider the entire school year and ask about upcoming fees for sports, the arts, field trips, technology needs, and other activities or equipment.
Parents may not be able to avoid every surprise cost that comes with the school year. But the more expenses they can anticipate, the better chance they have of reducing the risk of school expenses contributing to longer-term debt.
