How Much Should You Pay Your Sitter
According to a recent USA Today article, babysitters / nannies make an average of $10 per hour (in New York, the average is $13.50, for a sitter with 2-5 years of experience). This obviously can add up if you’re planning a day in the countryside or a night on the town, but it’s also a small price to pay for your sanity – not to mention the safety of your kids.
There are several factors to consider when deciding how much you should be paying:
- Babysitter’s Age You should be paying younger sitters (who generally have less experience) less than what you would pay someone older. That said, if a sitter is staying with you for many years, increase her hourly wages as her experience with your child improves.
- Location If you live in a big city (such as New York), expect to pay more for your nanny than someone who lives in the suburbs. Higher cost of living = higher wages.
- Experience A sitter whose know-how includes CPR (cardiopulmonary resuscitation) and has tended to big groups of children will earn higher wages, because specialized training should always be rewarded.
- Number of Children If you have more than one child, expect to pay $2 to $5 more an hour for each additional child. (So, if you’d pay $13 for one child for one hour, expect to pay $15-$18 for two children, or $17-$23 for three children, and so on.)
- Time of Day Expect to pay more if your kids will be awake the whole time while you’re gone. If the sitter will put your kids to bed, lock the doors, and watch TV, you can expect to pay less.
- Activities One child needs to go to the dentist, and the other one has soccer practice. And both need to be at dinner table by 7pm. You should expect to pay more if a sitter will need to venture out and drive your kids.
- Cooking For each meal that she prepares, you should expect to pay an additional $10 for your sitter’s wages -unless she simply orders a pizza for your kids by phone – and no meal is prepared!
- Transportation If you’re not driving a sitter from her home and back, you should give her some extra money for gas (or for the NYC cab).
Babysitter Pay Rate Calculator
The following Babysitter Pay Rate Calculator will calculate the going rate for sitters in your neighborhood! Check it here.
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