How much should you pay a babysitter? It depends on where you live
Sonja Haller
When you find a great, affordable babysitter, you do whatever you can to make her (or him) happy. And you keep that sitter a bit of secret around other moms lest they be stolen out from under you.
But they will move on eventually and leave you to search for a new sitter, all the while wondering what the going rate is for babysitters nowadays? You don't want to squander all your date-night money, but you don't want word to spread among the sitter community that you're (gasp) miserly.
UrbanSitter is a good place to start.
The site released its 7th Annual National Childcare Rates Survey. The group surveyed 20,000 families across the country to assess the average hourly babysitting rate.
That average hourly rate nationwide is $16.43 for one child.
How much babysitters cost in your area
San Francisco is rated the most expensive (no surprise there) at $17.34/per hour, and Phoenix is rated the least expensive at $11.83/ per hour.
The price of a babysitter varies according to your own finances and the experience of the babysitter. If they are Red Cross certified or have another kind of a babysitting experience they may demand, and rightly so, more money.
Also, if they're in demand by other moms and your kids LOVE them, they may ask for more money.
Top reasons we need babysitters
Parents surveyed were evenly split about why they need sitters. The reasons fall into the categories of "sanity or recreation," such as date night and me time or "it takes a village," such as after-school care and sick days or school days.
A couple of reasons given for needing a sitter could have fallen into both, however, like "summer break." Did parents take a much-needed vacation during summer break away from the kids? Or was the babysitter being used during summer break so parents could work?
The survey found that 38 percent of the parents hire a babysitter at least once a week.
- Date night
- Errands and appointments
- Back up care
- Sick days and school days
- Me time
- Holidays
- Summer break
- Working late
- Exercising
- After school care
Do you tip your babysitter?
If not, you're in the minority of parents around the country with 55 percent of parents tipping and 45 percent skipping the tip.
The rates in the survey don't include tip, but according to the survey, this is standard. If you're not tipping, well, you run the risk again of looking cheap.
Very few parents tip according to the industry standard of 20 percent. In fact, the majority of parents who tip, top off the babysitter's hourly rate by tipping at 29 percent. Wow!
Good luck holding onto your affordable, super awesome babysitter whom the kids love when a parent offers to pay them more and tips like a baller.
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