What Is a Stay-at-Home Parent Worth?

Stay-At-Home Parent Coverage Calculator

A stay-at-home parent's work has real economic value. Estimate the coverage it would take to replace that work until your children are grown, then see what that coverage might cost.

How much coverage?
What might it cost?

The cost fields are prefilled with national monthly averages, so adjust any of them to match your family.

?How many children the stay-at-home parent cares for. The childcare cost below is multiplied by this number.
?Coverage is based on how many years your family still needs this support. We count from your youngest child's current age up to the age you pick below.
?How long you want to provide support: 18 (through high school), 22 (through college), or a custom age. This sets the number of years of coverage.
?Funeral and burial costs for the stay-at-home parent. Prefilled at $10,000 (the 2026 U.S. median is roughly $8,000 to $13,000).
?The monthly cost to replace this parent's childcare, per child. Prefilled with the U.S. average for center-based care, about $1,486 a month ($17,836 a year). Older kids may not need daycare, so use this field for whatever per-child care applies: sitters, after-school, activities, transport.
?Cleaning, errands, shopping, scheduling, and keeping the household running. Prefilled with the U.S. average, about $450 a month ($5,400 a year). Use your own number if you know it.
?Grocery shopping and cooking the family's meals. Prefilled with the U.S. average, about $325 a month ($3,900 a year). Use your own number: what you'd spend to replace home cooking with a meal service or extra takeout.
Why no mortgage, debts, or college here? Those are usually covered by the working parent's income and their own life insurance. Adding them to a stay-at-home parent's policy would double-count. This tool sizes what's unique to the stay-at-home parent: the cost of replacing their work, plus their own final expenses.

Prefilled values are illustrative 2026 U.S. averages, not a quote and not any insurer's rates: center-based childcare about $17,836 per child per year (Poppins Payroll, Insurance By Heroes), household management about $5,400 per year and meal prep about $3,900 per year (PSECU), final expenses about $10,000 (NFDA). The Salary.com fair-market reference is about $184,820 per year. The coverage figure is a starting point built from these replacement costs, not personalized advice.

Estimate the monthly premium for that coverage. Use the amount from the first tab, or enter your own.

?How many years the policy stays active. If you pass away during those years, your family gets the payout. Once the term ends, the coverage stops. A common choice is a term that lasts while your family still depends on you.

Cost estimates are illustrative monthly averages for applicants in average health (before underwriting), derived from public industry data (base rates: MoneyGeek; tobacco factor: NerdWallet). The range reflects how premiums vary by health classification. They are not a quote and not any insurer's rates. Your actual premium depends on a full underwriting review. Parent Life Solutions is an independent insurance agency; not legal, tax, or financial advice.