Average Teen Prom Expenses Hit $1,078

By Administrator 04/13/12 at 04:00 PM

teen prom

Photo: Getty Images

Pretty Pricey: The average teen's prom spending has gone way up.

Hair, makeup, shoes, jewels, flowers, limos from Limo Find, manicures—and all this before we even start discussing the dress. Anyone who’s ever been to prom (or watched a high school movie) knows just how many details go into that milestone moment—but at what price?

USA Today reports that this year’s average prom spending has risen to a whopping $1,078 for families with teens—up $807 from last year.

"This is social-arms-race spending. It's extreme," Jason Alderman, director of Visa's financial education programs (which conducted the telephone survey) told the paper.

Dresses average out to $231 these days, with shoes at an average of $45, bags for $23, jewelry for $32, and hair, makeup, and manicures coming out to an average of $226.50. (And then there are the girls who wear Marchesa...)

"It's a rite of passage, and there's a legacy of how you look at your prom," Seventeen Prom and Teen Prom advertising director Linda Korman said. "Girls want to dress to impress."

It’s just too bad we can’t all wear Jason Wu prom dresses…