The Real Cost of Prom
Kennedy Higginbottom

As the school year is coming to end, many end of the school functions are coming up. One of the major functions that schools have is the senior prom. Seniors generally look forward to this event beginning in their freshman year. While prom is an exciting night it is very expensive. prom tranges from 400- 1000 dollars for most teens. This seems unreasonable but when you break the price down it is more understandable. The break down of the price includes: prom ticket, outfit (dress or suit), accessories, shoes, limo or any other form of car transportation, hair appointment, and for females specifically, makeup and nails. There are a lot of factors to take into account and depending on the type of style a person has and the region they live in, these prices can really add up. According to USA Today “Teens in the Northeast, spend the most on prom, an average of $699.56, compared to $625 in the West, $619 in the South and $610 in the Midwest, according to the survey of 1,700 people.” While these prices seem high, according to The Guardian teens spend more in average $900 dollars. The Buardian breaks down the prices by category depending on different demographics/.
Cierra McCullogh ‘18 says,” My prom dress alone was custom made and cost $1600.”
Personally, being a senior going to prom, my dress alone cost around $350 and getting my hair done cost around another $300 dollars and the prom ticket was $120, and I still have around another $200 dollars in expenses of little items I need. I feel as if the Guardian has a more accurate average because they consider a larger variety of people.
Senior Lonyae Johnson says “Along with the expensive prices, prom is just very stressful trying to get all things in order”.

This year Whitney Young’s prom will be at the hotel The Drake on June 1st and I expect to see all the seniors looking beautiful.