Kids Are Getting $5 A Tooth. Is That A Lot?

What’s the going rate for a loose tooth these days? Apparently about the price of a dozen eggs.

It seems the Tooth Fairy is shelling out a pretty penny for pearly whites. While on average children are waking up to a bit less under their pillow for a second consecutive year according to a poll by Delta Dental, they are still earning about $5 per tooth. That’s about what people are paying for eggs these days, according to recent data.

Delta’s poll indicates that tooth rewards have broadly risen over the past two decades. In 2005, the average—as remembered clearly by the author of this article—was about $2. (Her editor recalls getting quarters in the 1980s.) In 2023, it was around $6.

As the cost of living has changed over time, so has the amount kids are awarded for their teeth. Since the poll began in 1998, the average cash gift left by the Tooth Fairy has increased nearly 300% from $1.30.

That increase echoes a rise seen for other parent-to-kid payouts in recent decades. A report released in 2022 said the average weekly allowance for children was over $19, roughly double what this article’s Gen Z author typically got to keep her room clean in the mid-2000s.