The cost of living has affected everyone, including nannies and babysitter. With prices rising every day, it can be hard to determine how much to pay a babysitter or nanny.
At the end of the day, all families must look at their budget to identify what they can afford. Keep in mind all household workers must be paid an hourly wage. It is illegal in Texas, and many other states, to pay a household worker a salary.
Here are some tips to help decide what rates work best for you.
Below $15/hr
This rate should be exclusively for babysitters under 16 years old. If you have a neighbor who is looking to get into babysitting or a middle school student who wants to start babysitting for the first time, this is the range for you. Keep in mind how many children are in the house. If the babysitter is working with two children who will be in bed the majority of the job, the rate can be lower. If the children are younger, there are more than two, or it is during a time when the children will be awake and active, the rate should be higher.
$15-$20/hr
This is the perfect pay starting for 16 years olds to young adults who are getting into babysitting and nannying for the first time. This group will most likely have to drive to work which costs gas and car maintenance. This is also a good pay range for college students who do not have a lot of previous experience working with children. If someone was a neighborhood babysitter in high school, and now is looking to continue during college, they should be on the higher end of this pay range. They do have school expenses and other living costs to consider.
$20-$25/hr
Here is the part of the pay range where it can get a little more complicated. At the lower end of this pay range you will have people who might have some babysitting experience or other child care experience. This experience includes jobs like church nursery worker, coaching, or camp counselor. This kind of experience is great training to be a nanny or babysitter. As we move up this pay range you begin to see people with solid childcare experience. They have worked for a daycare for more than a year or they have at least one family they worked with long term. You can also see many people coming from related fields like home health care, teaching, etc..
$25-$30/hr
These are nannies who have already developed great experience in childcare. They are up to date on their certifications. They have references they can easily pull from. They know that working with children is their chosen path. Determining where they should be within this range should be based on how many children, and the expected duties of the job. This range is for people who consider being a nanny or a babysitter their job. Not a side gig, not a hustle, this is their job. If you are a nanny with at least five years’ experience, this is your starting pay range.
$30+
This pay range is where you start to find your “career nannies”. Career Nannies are people who have decided that nannying will be their chosen profession. They’ve worked for several families specifically as a nanny. They are people with experience not only with children, but specifically with helping families as a nanny. The range is not only determined by the expectations of the job, but by the experience the people have.
Perks:
Gas Mileage: In any nanny or babysitting position where driving is expected to be part of the job, reimbursement for gas should be included. In the state of Texas, gas reimbursement is 67 cents per mile.
Money for activities: Many families like for nannies to take their children out to activities or playdates. Nannies and babysitters should always be reimbursed for these activities. One option is to provide a nanny with a Visa gift card that you can load money on for your child’s activity expenses.
Bonus: While not required, it is always a great sign of respect for your nanny to give a bonus at the end of the year. Something that says “we appreciate you”.