About American Child Support Calculator

American Child Support Calculator is a free, educational resource designed to help parents, attorneys, and families understand child support estimates across all 50 states. Our tagline is simple: "Understand What to Expect."

What We Do

Our calculator provides educational estimates of monthly child support payments based on the two primary models used in the United States: the Income Shares Model (used by roughly 40 states) and the Percentage of Income Model (used by approximately 14 states).

We factor in custody arrangements, both parents' gross monthly incomes, childcare costs, health insurance premiums, and extraordinary expenses — giving you a more complete picture than a simple single-number formula.

What We Are Not

• We are not a law firm and do not provide legal advice.
• We are not affiliated with any court, government agency, or legal service.
• Our estimates are educational approximations only — actual court-ordered amounts depend on many factors unique to each case.

Why We Built This

Navigating child support can be confusing and emotionally difficult. State formulas are buried in legal documents. Attorneys are expensive. Many parents enter court proceedings without any understanding of what a reasonable number might look like.

Our goal is to give every parent — regardless of income — a clear, unbiased starting point for understanding what the guidelines suggest. Knowledge is empowering, and we believe everyone deserves access to it.

Our Content

Beyond the calculator, we publish educational articles covering how child support is calculated, state-by-state differences, how to modify orders, and what happens if payments are missed. All content is reviewed for accuracy and includes appropriate legal disclaimers.

Content on this site is reviewed by Dr. Zee, MD — a practicing physician with expertise in research, documentation, and health policy — to ensure our educational materials are clear, accurate, and responsibly presented.

Questions? Visit our Contact page.