How much should you pay a babysitter?
What’s the going rate for babysitters these days?
The short answer: It depends.
Among the pay parameters: Is the babysitting candidate in middle-school, high school or in college? Does the sitter drive? Has the sitter taken a CPR certification course or have other qualifications? How old is your child? (An infant or toddler won’t need as much time and attention.) Is there more than one child for the sitter to keep an eye on?
My daughter and her husband were recently looking for a babysitter for the first time to watch their two-year-old for a couple hours since grandma and pops were busy that night and unavailable. They asked me questions: How much do we pay? Is it better to hire a middle-schooler rather than someone in high school? Should we interview the potential sitter first before committing?
I’m a few years’ removed from hiring babysitters. But I always felt you first needed to ask what the sitter charged.
I also paid a consistent rate even if she
(or he) were needed only to sit on the couch and watch television for two hours while the toddler slept.
That paid dividends when I needed a sitter in a pinch. I also added a tip on those short-notice nights.
The best way to determine how much to pay is to start with a little community reconnaissance. Ask around in the neighborhood, the playground at the park or the daycare.
That said, there are plenty of surveys that can give you at least a ballpark number.
The national average hourly rate for a babysitter in 2022 was more than $20 for one child and about $23 for two kids, according to UrbanSitter, which markets an online service and mobile app that allows parents to search for, book, pay and even issue reviews on sitters.
Rates vary widely in different parts of the country. The average hourly rate in Kansas is $14 compared with $16 in Missouri, $18 an hour in Virginia and about $13 an hour in Florida.
If you’re looking to tack on additional duties, like homework help, dashing to the grocery store for snacks or dropping off and picking up from soccer practice, it would be proper etiquette to bump up the sitter’s pay.
While it’s nice to have the grandparents available to take the kids off your hands, parents should factor in adding a sitter to their budget.
After all, parents need a night off from the kids every once in a while.
And if you have a child trying to break into the babysitting business this summer, I recommend a certification class taught by the Red Cross or other organizations. After all, $20 an hour is darn good money.