The Teen Income Stream – Babysitting – What Should You Pay?

As the father of an 11 year old I am transitioning out of needing the occasional babysitter to helping daughter Kate to becoming an occasional babysitter.  Every dollar she earns on her own teaches her many important life lessons and take a little pressure off dad;s wallet too.

What you pay depends on a lot of factors such as where you live, how many kids you have, how long is the job etc.   UrbanSitter has released their 9th annual study about what people pay for kid care these days.

UrbanSitter surveyed 25,000 families in 25 U.S. cities they found the average rate for babysitting one child was $17.73 per hour.  Does that sound right to you? 4 hours for dinner and a movie will cost you an extra $70.92!  For perspective, the national minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. California has the highest state minimum wage at 13 dollars an hour.

The survey shows babysitting two children was $20.30 per hour.

Out of the 25 cities, Las Vegas had the cheapest hourly babysitting rate, while San Francisco had the most expensive.

Back in 2012 when UrbanSitter conducted their first child care study the average babysitting rate was $12.75 per hour-- that means it's jump up 39 percent over the course of eight years.  Pretty good work if you can get it!