Babysitting rates for 2022 are in and it is official — babysitting is quite the lucrative business. According to the 2022 babysitting rates study conducted by UrbanSitter, 2022 babysitting hourly rates rose 11% in the last year, outpacing inflation at 7%.
If this seems like a big jump, you're right. From 2019 to 2020, rates rose just 3.9%, making this year's increase nearly triple what we've seen in recent years past.
The average hourly rate for a babysitter nationally is $20.57 for one child and $23.25 for two kids.
Rates for babysitting
The study surveyed 10,000 U.S. households across the country on various data, including their pay for sitters 16 and older.
“Rates have gone up year over year, sort of in line with inflation,” Lynn Perkins, UrbanSitter’s CEO, told TODAY Parents in 2019.
The most expensive sitters lived in New York City where the average hourly rate was $23.45 for one child and $24.77 for two children. On the opposite side of the spectrum, San Antonio-based sitters made the least, charging an average of $12.70 per hour for one child and $15.66 per hour for two kids.
Babysitting hourly rates for 2022
The rates in other urban cities varied (the survey did not include rates in more rural areas).
- Atlanta, GA: $18.43 (one child), $22.78 (two children)
- Austin, TX: $18.62 (one child), $21.93 (two children)
- Boston, MA $19.96 (one child), $22.82 (two children)
- Chicago, IL $17.62 (one child), $19.75 (two children)
- Dallas/Ft. Worth, TX $15.84 (one child), $21.07 (two children)
- Denver, CO $18.12 (one child), $20.67 (two children)
- Houston, TX $18.39 (one child), $22.73 (two children)
- Las Vegas, NV $14.75 (one child), $19.12 (two children)
- Los Angeles, CA $20.23 (one child), $26.24 (two children)
- Minneapolis, MN $18.51 (one child), $19.75 (two children)
- Nashville, TN $15.31 (one child), $17.16 (two children)
- New York City, NY $23.45 (one child), $24.77 (two children)
- Philadelphia, PA $15.40 (one child), $21.25 (two children)
- Phoenix, AZ $19.81 (one child), $21.15 (two children)
- Portland, OR $18.79 (one child), $20.28 (two children)
- Raleigh/Durham, NC $19.94 (one child), $20.21 (two children)
- San Antonio, TX $12.70 (one child), $15.66 (two children)
- San Diego, CA $17.53 (one child), $21.61 (two children)
- San Francisco, CA $23.32 (one child), $26.42 (two children)
- Seattle, WA $21.23 (one child), $23.57 (two children)
- Washington, DC $19.79 (one child), $21.35 (two children)
Perkins told TODAY that although rates have gone up over the years, so has the creativity of parents who have found ways to minimize babysitting costs.
Some parents have arranged to double-up with friends so they could leave both sets of kids at one house and the split the cost of the sitter at the end of the night.
"I don't actually know if the parents end up going to the same restaurant as each other, or if they're just sharing a sitter," Perkins said. "But for kids who are a little bit older, this ends up being kind of fun for them because they're with a friend, and the babysitter."
Tips for lowering babysitting costs:
- If you're going out on a date, consider doing so on a weeknight. Many sitters are willing to accept a lower hourly rate if it's not on a Friday or Saturday evening.
- The less work the sitters have to do, the less you have to pay them. Some sitters will agree to a lower rate if the kids are fed, bathed and in their PJs by the time they arrive.
- When hiring adults who have young children of their own, consider allowing them to bring their child with them to the job. “This is a great way to get a lower rate,” Perkins said.
This story was originally published in 2019 and has been updated.