Even the tooth fairy is feeling the pain of high inflation.
The average amount of cash left under the pillow by the tooth fairy (spoiler alert: parents) dropped to $5.84 in 2023, 6% lower than the $6.23 the previous year — the first time decline since 2018, according to a survey conducted by insurer Delta Dental.
Even the loss of a first tooth, which usually elicits a more lucrative award, wasn’t as profitable as it once was, the survey found.
Last year, losing a first tooth resulted in an average gift of $7.09 — down from $7.29 in 2022, according to the survey, which polled 1,000 parents of children between the ages of 6 and 12.
Kids living in the western part of the United States scored the biggest bonanza.
The average value of a lost tooth in the West was $8.54 — a 37% increase compared to 2022, when the value was $6.23.
In the Northeastern US, the average value rose 12% from $6.14 to $6.87.
The tooth fairy was more miserly in the South and Midwest.
In the Midwest, the worth of a lost tooth fell 36%, dropping from $5.63 to $3.63. In the South, the value dropped to $5.51 per tooth from its 2022 mark of $6.59 — a 16% decrease.
The poll noted that the tooth fairy’s gift has traditionally tracked with the S&P 500, but that trend has been bucked the last two years.
In 2022, the tooth fairy’s dropped off a record high of $6.23 — up 16% from the year before. Meanwhile, the S&P 500 underwhelmed that same year — dropping 18% in value.
Last year, the tooth fairy was a bit more stingy, but the S&P 500 roared back with 24% gains — a sign of the resilience of an economy that has been hampered by high interest rates and soaring levels of inflation.
