How much is the Tooth Fairy paying for lost teeth in 2024? It depends on where you live.
Kids are finding less money under their pillows this year, as the Tooth Fairy’s payouts have declined for the first time in five years to an average of $5.84.
A child who loses a wiggly tooth is likely to receive a gift that is down 6% from last year’s record high of $6.23 for a single tooth.
The value of a lost tooth has more than quadrupled from the Tooth Fairy’s average payment of $1.30 when insurance company Delta Dental started tracking it in 1998.
How much does the Tooth Fairy pay for a lost tooth?
The average value of a child’s lost tooth varies depending on where they live.
Kids in the Midwest receive the lowest amount, an average of $3.63, which is $2.21 lower than the national average. It’s a 36% decrease from the $5.63 Midwestern kids received in 2023.
The Tooth Fairy is most generous on the West Coast, where the average is $8.54 per lost tooth, a 37% increase over last year’s figure of $6.25.
Kids in the South dropped to $5.51, which is below the national average, after leading the pack last year with $6.59.
In the Northeast, the Tooth Fairy increased 12% to $6.87, more than $1 above the national average.
How much money is a kid’s first lost tooth worth?
There’s a premium connected to the first tooth a child loses, but the Tooth Fairy Index indicates that milestone is pulling in less money this year, too.
The national average for losing a tooth has dropped to $7.09 from $7.29 over the past year.
More: What winter? It hasn't been this hot in February in Des Moines in more than 100 years
How is the worth of a lost tooth tied to the economy?
The value of a lost tooth tends to reflect the general direction of the Standard & Poor's 500 Index (S&P 500). Last year, though, that trend went in the opposite direction and continues in 2024.
While the S&P 500 saw a 20% increase over the past year, the average value of a single lost tooth decreased 6%. The January 2023 S&P 500 average was 3,942, increasing to an average of 4,746 for January 2024.
This year, even as inflation falls, the Tooth Fairy seems to still be watching her pennies.
How is the Tooth Fairy Index calculated?
Delta Dental conducted the 2024 Tooth Fairy Poll between Jan. 3 Jan. 17, It collected information from 1,000 parents of children ages 6 to 12.
Reporter Ronna Faaborg can be reached at rlawless@gannett.com.
This article originally appeared on Ames Tribune: Tooth Fairy's payouts are the lowest in Iowa, Midwest in 2024
