Parents are projected to spend $146 on school supplies per kid. Here's why prices are up in 2026

Parents will be digging deeper into their wallets this back-to-school season.

Supplies are getting more expensive, research groups found, forcing some tough budgeting decisions.

"Parents are making really tough decisions about how they're going to make ends meet at this time," said Angela Hanks, Chief of Policy Programs at The Century Foundation

"Inflation has been rip-roaring hot for a while now," said Lindsay Owens, president of Groundwork Collaborative.

The two research groups worked together for their annual back-to-school prices report. Their analysis found the cost of school supplies are up 7.7% compared to last year.

Items that saw the biggest jump:

• Lunch boxes: $18.91 (up 26.7%)
• One-subject notebooks: $4.92 (up 23%)
• Index cars: $3.86 (up 22.2%)
• Notebook paper: $1.08 (up 20%)

"And that's in a moment when inflation is somewhere around 3.5%. So, we're seeing these prices rise even more quickly than other goods that people are paying for, and not nearly as quickly as people's wages are rising," said Hanks.

Coming out the COVID-19 pandemic, supply chain issues were part of the blame for rising prices on school supplies.

That's not an issue today. Instead, the report points to tariffs and rising gas prices.

"Many of the items that families bought for last year's back-to-school season were imported before the tariff rates hit and so this is actually the first year where the majority of goods that families are buying on the school supply list are imported and coming in at the higher tariff rate," said Owens.

Newell is the company behind Sharpie, Paper Mate, Expo Markers, and Elmer's Glue. The report cited how the company raised prices repeatedly last year due to tariffs costing them over $300 million between 2025-2026.

Logitech, which makes headphones and other classroom electronics, was hit with tariffs as well, passing the costs onto customers.

As for the impact from gas prices, Hanks said, "it's increasing everything from shipping costs that companies are paying, all the way to the sandwich bag that your kid's lunch goes into."

The report highlighted ACCO Brands, which is the parent company of Mead, Five Star, Trapper Keeper, and Swingline notebooks and binders. It told investors during an earnings call that it anticipated "rising costs due to the ongoing conflict in the Middle East."

It's not all doom and gloom. Retailers recognize the pinch parents, guardians, and teachers are feeling.

Target said nearly all its school supplies are at or below the price of last year with some items like folders costing just 25 cents. 

Walmart turned back the clock as well, dropping prices on the 14 most popular school supplies to levels not seen since 2019.

Shoppers can find more savings by taking advantage of sales and buying store brand items instead of name brand.

The National Retail Federation projects parents to spend $146.45 dollars on school supplies this year per child, up from $143.77 last year.

Some might feel pressure to get every supply or clothing item on their child's list.  A survey by Credit Karma found 45% of parents plan to take on debt to cover the cost of back-to-school shopping, while almost half (48%) have opened or will open a new credit card to help foot the bill.