Tooth fairy is hit by inflation as the average cost of a child’s discarded teeth skyrockets to $6.23 – nearly $1 more than last year
- The average amount the Tooth Fairy leaves in an American home is $6.23
- The South proved to be the most generous with an average donation of $6.59
- When the study began 25 years ago in 1998, the value of a lost tooth was $1.30
Children who are going to lose baby teeth this year should consider themselves lucky, because it seems that the tooth fairy is paying more than ever before.
The average amount of cash left by the tooth fairy across America is $6.23, compared to $5.36 last year, according to Delta Dental’s annual poll of the tooth fairy.
For the past 25 years, the dental insurance company has tracked the average size of a tooth fairy birth, which generally tracked the S&P 500 index.
This year was an outlier – in the 12 months leading up to January, the S&P fell nearly 13 percent, while the average lost tooth value increased 16 percent.
The average amount of money left by parents has increased fairly steadily over the past two and a half decades, roughly in line with the S&P 500. This year was exceptional as the S&P fell nearly 13 percent, while the average lost tooth value fell 16 percent
Average tooth value was estimated from a survey of more than 1,000 parents of children ages 6 to 12 across the U.S., according to Delta Dental
However, similar trends emerged after the financial crisis of 2007-2008, in which the S&P and the wider US economy suffered, but the parents remained generous.
Similarly, in 2022, American households faced high inflation and a generally higher cost of living as the price of gas and other consumer goods rose.
Last month, the Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation measure unexpectedly jumped in a worrying sign for consumers that sent major Wall Street stock indices to their worst weekly losses so far this year.
According to Delta Dental, the average tooth value was estimated from a survey of more than 1,000 parents of children ages 6 to 12 across the US.
This year’s survey was conducted between Jan. 6 and Jan. 19 and found that the amount left by parents across the country varied on a regional basis.
The South recorded an average donation of $6.59, the highest in the country and 14 percent more than last year.
Second was the West, which rose the most, 53 percent from last year, to $6.25.
Falling below the national average to $6.14 after leading last year at $7.36 per tooth is the Northeast.
The personal consumer spending index rose 5.4 percent year-on-year in January, up from 5.3 percent in the previous month, a worrying sign for inflation
While the Midwest was the least generous, donations rose 32 percent from last year to $5.63.
This year there was a much smaller regional reach of just 96 cents, while last year the reach between the Northeast and West was $3.08.
Since the first poll in 1998, the average cash gift left by the tooth fairy has increased 379 percent from $1.30 to $6.23 per tooth.
