Babysitting Rates in 2023: How Much To Pay Per Hour
Babysitting rates can vary by location. See the going rate for babysitting in 2023 and find out if you’re paying enough!
How much do you pay a young adult or teenager to babysit in 2023?
Oh, baby! Ask ten people how much they pay their babysitter, and you might get ten different answers. As many babysitters are paid under the table, it can be tricky to gauge exactly what a fair rate should be.
We started a conversation with Hip2Save readers on Facebook to better understand how parents are determining babysitting rates. We ended up with a lot of feedback and a very wide pay range!
What is the going rate for babysitting in 2023?
We almost fell out of our chairs when we found out that Urban Sitter, a company that helps parents hire babysitters, calculated the 2023 national average for babysitting 1 kid to be $22.68/hour. The average hourly rate for babysitting 2 kids in 2023 is $25.37/hour! 😱 We had to find out how much our readers really pay when doing the hiring on their own.
Some Hip2Save readers said they paid as little as $4/hour, while others paid as much as $30/hour! The average going rate for babysitting reported by our Facebook followers landed somewhere between $10-$20 an hour for one child, with $15/hour feeling like the sweet spot.
So, why is there such a large range of pay rates for babysitters? We did a deep dive to understand all the factors one should consider when negotiating babysitting rates.
Here’s what should you consider when determining a fair hourly rate for babysitting:
1. Location
Everything costs more in the city. Location is one of the biggest considerations to keep in mind when negotiating a babysitting rate. If you’re near a larger city like San Francisco or Chicago, expect to pay considerably more than those living in small towns and rural areas.
2. Number of children
Babysitters often charge by the hour, by the number of kids, or a combination of both. They may charge a flat fee like $15 an hour, or they may charge $15 an hour per kid plus $5 for any additional children.
Keep in mind that it is considerably harder to babysit several children than it is to watch just one child. It takes more focus, more control, more food prep, and more entertainment. Babysitters expect to be compensated accordingly. If you are asking your babysitter to watch more than two children at a time, expect to fork over a little more cash.
3. Your child’s age and level of independence
Babysitters may charge more for younger children that need more adult supervision or assistance with things like diapers, taking medicine, and feeding themselves. In some cases, babysitters may also charge more to watch a child with special needs if they require additional care.
4. Time of the day
Don’t forget the principles of supply and demand. Many adults and older teenagers have plans during peak weekend hours. To book a sitter, you may need to offer to pay more for a Saturday night than a Tuesday evening.
Hip Tip: If your child will primarily be sleeping during sitting hours, you might be able to negotiate a lower rate as there is less for the sitter to do.
5. Experience of the babysitter
Are you hiring a young teen or a young adult? Like with any other job, babysitters expect to be compensated based on their experience. If they have several years of babysitting under their belt or additional certifications, you should consider those factors when calculating their pay.
6. Special tasks required of the babysitter
You get what you pay for! Babysitters are hired to watch the children. If you ask your babysitter to cook, clean, drive, administer medicine, or run errands, then you may want to increase their standard fee.
7. Gas money
If your babysitter is expected to drive their own car to transport your children to events or classes, make sure your babysitting fee accounts for gas expenses.
8. Inflation
If you aren’t willing to adjust your rate to account for recent inflation, you might be left without a sitter. Everything costs more these days, and babysitters have expenses they need to cover, too. If your rate doesn’t appeal to your sitter, they are likely to take another job that pays more.
Which babysitter pay calculator should I use?
Still scratching your head on how much to pay? We don’t blame you. There are so many factors to consider!
An easy way to come up with a reasonable rate is to use an online babysitter pay calculator. Care.com has a decent calculator that can help you determine a fair wage for your location. It does not take into account any special tasks you may require of the sitter, so be sure to adjust your final rate accordingly.
Reliable babysitters can be hard to find, so if you do have a good sitter, try to pay them as well as you can. Doing so might just mean they prioritize you over other job offers!
Hip Tip: Babysitters can be expensive. Keep an eye out for Parent Nights Out at your local YMCA, church, or community center. These places sometimes offer parents a night out for FREE or at a very low cost!
Help the babysitter keep your kids busy with a hot deal on a new board game!
A babysitter and a nanny aren’t the same job. It’s a nuanced conversation.
Why would somebody confuse the two
😳😳😳😳😳
Wow at the change since I was a kid fifty years ago. Babysitting was one of the best ways a young (13-15 yrs) teenager made money and we thought 75¢ an hour was huge.
Yes, totally agree. I got paid anywhere from 50 cents to 75 cents no matter how many kids, age, etc. Just per hour. Would save and purchase things I really wanted like a B/W TV back in the day. LOL.
respectfully, you could buy 2 gallons of gas for 75¢ in 1972 (quick search shows me the national average was 36¢/gal). considering the cost of gas now, I don’t think it’s unreasonable that babysitters, who do often have to drive to their clients’ houses, be paid in proportion to rising cost of living.
You misunderstand. I’m not complaining or criticizing the amount charged today by sitters. I’m just amazed at the difference. And yes, I actually remember gasoline at 25¢/gallon too.
I remember getting $1.00 an hour back in the day!
Ha. I’m 76, so 63 years ago I got a quarter for 3 kids. I was glad, then I could go buy a 45 record for a dollar…. ha My own money….
50 cents no matter how old or how many kids and yet I bought my own clothes during my teen years at Casual Corner. My Bestie & I would catch a bus to downtown Cincinnati and after a shopping spree we would hit a nice place for lunch ….and I mean a good steak and baked potato with our babysitting money.
This is how we learned thriftiness at a young age. I started Babysitting at age 10 for an infant next door. People knew I was responsible as I could take care of my baby brother at that time. Plus prior to even babysitting I delivered newspapers in at age 7 with my brother. My mom took me to a bank to set up my own savings account. Just that set up great responsibility for money the rest of my life and yes different from today’s world.
I remember thinking I’d scored big when I was paid 75¢ an hour. I fed , bathed and put the baby to bed, cleaned up the mess he made eating, and read a few bedtime stories to his 4 year old sister. Sometimes there were other duties required while the kids slept. These parents didn’t like for the sitter to actually sit!
50 cents no matter how old or how many kids and yet I bought my own clothes during my teen years at Casual Corner. My Bestie & I would catch a bus to downtown Cincinnati and after a shopping spree we would hit a nice place for lunch ….and I mean a good steak and baked potato with our babysitting money.
I made $2 an hour babysitting as a teen and I thought I was rich 🙂
Soooo… This didn’t help me at all lol. I suppose I’d be able to do best by just searching my local Facebook to see what sitters are charging.
My kids are teens and up, so grateful to have family to help when they were little. No way we could afford it otherwise. How do parents get by with paying so much these days? 🙁
I pay $10 an hour for my sitters to watch my 8 year old. For two children I would say $15. Infants or special needs I would say $20.
I pay my teens $20/hr to babysit their high needs brother. They’d watch him for less but $20 means they’re all chomping at the bit to babysit him so I’ve always got a sitter. Moral of the story is bribes work.
You have to pay your own kids like a bribe to babysit your other kid?
I just don’t understand how babysitters, baristas, Target cashiers are making so much more than most first responders. Sad.
This was just featured on CBS – makes me wonder, why do 1st responders, particularily in FL, receive dirt poor wages? Or fire fighters in California?
Yup. We are in FL. My husband has been an EMT 11 years and is making $13 an hr. He’s considering becoming a babysitter lol. It’s not only sad, it’s scary…if they all leave due to such poor pay, so many people will suffer.
Can’t really judge the two fairly. Babysitters do not get insurance, benefits, pto, educational reimbursement. Yes $13 l-15 is low but you have to include the package as well.
When you consider what they deal with on a DAILY basis, they need to be well taken care of.
Why don’t we at at least pay them what we pay our congress members?
I saw on our news yesterday that our city council is getting paid 130k-140k a year.
At least pay first responders the same.
Also, the educational reimbursement is a nice thought but you probably do not have a first responders in your immediate family to assume after their required overtime they would have time to go to school. And not only that, that is only a select few agencies that offer that.
(Not in our state)
I pay $150 a day (cash) – she watches our kids ages 8, 6 and 3. Good care costs money and while I wish I didn’t have to fork over close to $15K a year, she is great with our kids, cares for them when they are sick, and really engages & plays with them.
I live in Atlanta – I am 52 and charge $25 an hour (up to 3 kids) and come to you. Its $5 more an hour per extra child. After 10 hours (Hours 11-24) the rate drops to $20. We swim, play board games, crafts, cook, dress up, etc. We go to putt-putt or the spray park or geo catching. We don’t sit inside all day.
That seems like too much. That’s almost as much as teachers make. Why should kids with no experience make that much? Do they kids at least have cpr/first aid & blood born pathogen training?
Remember I don’t get benefits, no one is paying into SS for me, no paid holidays and the work is sporadic. Last time I checked teachers had benefits, retirement, SS, paid holidays, sick days, a union (in most cases) and a check EVERY week.
https://www.irs.gov/taxtopics/tc756
You can pay a babysitter whatever you want just negotiate in advance. They may have standards rates they expect. Also if you don’t pay enough then they would rather do their own thing, you are paying for their time. 20 years ago when I babysat as a teen I was paid $10-15 an hour. On holidays and times it was closer to $20, or some would offer a flat rate of $100/150. It was always negotiated up front. I was never expected to do any additional chores, but would typically pick up the house to the best of my ability and help where I could. I hated just watching tv.
Actually quite a few, who make it more than a casual thing, do have the CPR
My daughter took a babysitting class at the hospital and they do get trained for CPR and other dangerous situations. The class alone was $150 and this was 7 years ago when she was 12 so probably it’s more expensive now. Yes, some don’t do the training but there are a lot who go through training. And like Susan mentioned they don’t get any benefits like teachers do. Like anything, If you hire someone to take care of your kids you need to do your homework first. I wouldn’t trust my kids with a 12 year old who is going to charge me $20 with no experience or training.
You really have to base it off of the local fast food pay scale because that’s what you are competing against. Here BK
Thanks for letting us know about the comparison you use for pay rate, ToriSC. 💕
Thank you, I appreciate it!
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