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UrbanSitter.com's study on average hourly rate by city and number of children watched
Parents in New York City are dishing out the highest hourly rate for babysitters in the country, at $15.50 an hour. But even in lower-cost cities such as St. Louis, date night can cost nearly $10 an hour just for someone to watch the kids.
UrbanSitter.com, a site that provides babysitting services to parents in cities around the country, reviewed its database of several thousand sitter bookings and found the average hourly rate for sitters in the Big Apple to be more than $20 for three kids, with Los Angeles and San Francisco not far behind.
The average hourly rate per child nationally, the site reported, was $12.75; and the average total booking for jobs was $67.
While babysitting costs can add up, the hourly rate hasn’t changed much in recent years, partly because there are so many more babysitters trying to get into the market, said Lynn Perkins, co-founder of UrbanSitters.
“There are a lot of college students and graduates looking to babysit because the cost of college is going up and parents are looking for kids to help support themselves,” she explained.
Nannies and college graduates with early childhood education experience still command higher fees of $16 to $22 an hour, but college sitters with little experience are willing to work for less, she said.
The steep price tag makes date night a rare treat for many parents.
Susan Fox, founder of Park Slope Parents, an online community of 4,600 families in Brooklyn, N.Y., did her own survey this year and found that 53 percent of neighborhood parents said they didn’t go out more because of the sitter expense.
“We found the average cost of date night and sitter combined is $158,” she said.
Fox has two young children and goes out about once every three weeks. She pays her sitter from $15 to $18 an hour.
No matter the cost, some parents are more than willing to pay.
Nina Balan of Chelmsford, Mass., doesn’t care if a night out with her husband, David, ends up costing more than $200 including sitter expenses.
Courtesy Nina Balan
Nina Balan with her daughters, Sofia and Ava
At about $12 to $14 an hour, she typically ends up paying about $75 for for the sitter plus a tip of $5 or $10 tip if the couple is late getting home.
“We need Mommy and Daddy time,” said Balan, who runs mommy lifestyle blog MamaSaysWhat.
While nothing’s going to derail date night, she does wish she had family nearby to take on some of the babysitting so they didn’t have to dish out so much money.
But Balan said she’s willing to pay a hit higher than the going rate because she requires more from the sitters who watch her daughters, Sofia, 8, and Ava, 5.
“I ask all my babysitters to have CPR and first aid training,” she said. “And if they don’t have it I offer to pay for it. I know it’s a bit nuts but that’s what I do.”
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$15/hr to eat all my food and watch tv? I only got $2/hr to do that when I was a teen. Makes me even more thankful I have a ten year gap between my kids.
A good babysitter will actually spend time with your kids, instead of sending them to their room or bed, leaving your "$2/hr sitter" to do what he/she wants.
So you had one kid in order that he/she could babysit the other? What do you expect? Free babysitting? Just shows how much value you place on trusting your kids' lives to someone else. Why did you even have them in the first place?
I charged $2.50 and hour for babysitting, and I came with games and books. I took my responsibility very seriously, and I interviewed families who wanted me to work for them. I usually kept about 2 families in my regular rotation. When someone would move, I would immediately get calls from their friends asking if I would be willing to babysit for them. I had a family offer me a raise, and I was embarrassed to take even $3 an hour. Even at a young age I understood that people needed to be able to afford to go out. I had friends who charged per child, I had friends who charged an hourly rate higher than mine. But unlike them I never sat around waiting for someone to call me. I worked 4-5 days a week, was always booked on Friday and Saturday nights, and the families I worked for made me feel like I was a part of them. I had both CPR training and first aid, even though it wasn't standard at the time, and I had a firm grasp on common sense. If I wasn't sure what I supposed to do about a problem, I knew I could call my mom to get advice (not everyone had cell phones back then). I would also occasionally work for free for people who I knew couldn't afford a babysitter.
My daughter is now getting to the age where she will start sitting soon, and I have told her that she needs to think about what people can afford, and not just base her pricing on what other people charge. Everyone is strapped for cash, and parents shouldn't have to pay $150 for a date night because the babysitter charges $15 an hour. Some people may say that $2.50 an hour is ridiculous in this day and age, but I disagree. My child has no expenses that she is responsible for and all her needs are met. If she charged more than $4 an hour, I would be really disappointed in her. If she was a nanny or a college graduate, that is a different story. But for babysitting, I don't think it should be unreachable for any parent who needs to be away from their kids for a little bit.
NYC is very, very expensive, and travel can be pricey and/or extremely lengthy, especially in certain times of the day. Throw in a well places accident or a subway breaking down, or even delayed for any reason, and you'll be lucky to make a 5 miles journey in less than an hour. Cost of living needs to be factored in, making $15.50 an hour in NYC, the equivalent of less than $7 an hour, when compared to the national average cost of living index.
Those of you claiming $15/hr. is absurd definitely do not live in NYC.
Geez, $200 for a date night? No one says you have to go to the most expensive restaurant in town. Date night has become all about quantity, not quality time spent with your significant other. A successful date night does not mean how much money you spent, but how well you spent your time. I would gladly spend more money on a babysitter who has gone through Red Cross certification training (including First Aid and CPR).
in new york - it can easily take an hour each way or more to get where you are going - at $10 / hr for a sitter that's $20 off the top - movies are $12 and up so that' s $24 plus popcorn and soda - $15 - for a two hour movie - that's $79 - before you've even had dinner .. don't forget gas and parking fees. Add an inexpensive meal out - say $50 - plus two hours to eat it ($20 for the sitter) and you're up to $149. Pay the sitter $15 because you have more than 1 kid and the cost of this evening is now $179 and those figures are before you buy something for the sitter eat or for transportation to get the sitter home - if you can't drive them.
Part of the reason why we have such high unemployment. If all that's available is a McJob and the babysitter costs more than your McJob pays, there's NO POINT in going to work!
Don't worry though the McJob creators are hard at work though. Just don't have any kids, aspire to never attain any assets, retire, or have dependable health care or insurance and you'll be fine!
I'd say that being entrusted with the life of a child requires a lot more responsibility and reliability than flipping a McBurger.
Laura, I believe what Opinionated meant by McJob creators, is that companies are paying people less, because there are more people who are desperate for a job. Why pay someone $20 an hour, when someone else is willing to work for $15, and someone behind them, is willing to get only $11?
You're both right. The problem is daycare is only ONE of the factors that makes it so some people cannot "afford" to go to work. Plus I don't know about you, but if I'm going to trust my kid in the hands of anyone else, it'd better be worth it! If when all is said and done you earn the same amount of money as sitting home raising your kid, might as well stay home! Why on earth would anyone let someone ELSE raise their kids otherwise? Very rare anyone will take care of your child as well as you will, and there are bonds continually being formed and time which you can NEVER get back.
I do not get a babysitter as I had the kids to spend time with them. They are fun, enjoyable, entertaining. I teach them, learn from them and are constantly doing the best I can for them. Why get a babysitter when you can enjoy your kids before they move out. People who go out too much are self indulgent. Most days I would rather be with them. Why would I pay anybody to enjoy the time with my kids?
Rock12...that is your choice if you want to stay home with your kids all the time. Some people like to go out and have 'adult time' and when they do, they require someone to watch their kids. Lets not be so judgemental of others.
Those well to do NYC people can afford it.
I don't understand why people don't TRADE babysitting services with their friends. I'll watch your kids Friday night, you watch mine Saturday. I'll watch yours for a long weekend in June so you can have a "romantic getaway", you watch mine in July. Or, are people just that selfish anymore? I really don't want some distracted, texting, cell-phoning teenager responsible for entertaining and monitoring my kids. Start a child care swap. It may cost you some time, and be a little hectic with extra kids to watch, but it won't cost anything, and you know your friends.
Smart idea. I did that a few times with a friend. We had mega sleepovers once a month. All the adults were friends, and all our kids were friends, or played little league together.
I think lots of people do trade babysitting with freinds - This article wasn't about that.
wow! I was a full-time nanny in the 80's in Newport Beach, CA and made $4/hr! sometimes 70 hrs a week. Now, this was a nanny position, not a date night arrangement, so of course no one was gonna pay that rate (adjusted for "inflation" lol) for full time care (2 girls, one with epilepsy). But, the family i did babysit for once a week in the evening (for date night), would give me $20-30 for the night, and that was fine with me! I could not afford those rates now. Good thing my kids are 17 and 22! :) I guess I'm in the wrong biz these days.
$4.00 in 1980 is about $10.50 today. $20-$30 in 1980 is $50-80 in today's money. If your experience is typical, I guess this article should read, "Babysitters Paid the Same Rates For the Last 30 Years."
The girl above is talking nanny position which is still higher paid than a date night sitter even by todays standards- plus she was taking care of a special needs child)-Min wage is not always in keeping with inflation- min wage in 1994 (not 1980) was about 4.50 and hour and sitters made (2.5) and today it is 7.25 (which would make sitters paid 5.00-7.00 an hour (dep on where you live)- tops! We never made more than min wage in cash- it was always cash and less than min wage- today it is reversed!
Here in my city, which isn't in your chart, the trained sitters are asking upwards of $10/hr PER KID. When my kids were 10 and 11 they still wanted that much. At 10/11 years old the sitter is basically there for emergencies. I can see that much for infants, but not older children. We didn't use a sitter than and haven't since.
As a teenager in the 1990's, I babysat all the time. I didn't have a rate - I took whatever the parents were willing to give which was usually pizza for dinner, a rented video to watch with the kids while they were gone and a ride home. It was fine with me. As the oldest of 4 kids, I knew how hard parenting could be and was glad to help anyone when I could.
A lot of variables go into the cost of a sitter...
I have had many coversations with friends and family on this issue-I disagree with the article as to the reasons why the rate has gotten so over the top. When I was a sitter (yes it was 20 years ago but the rate was 2.50-like some of the others in comments above) the min wage was about 5 ish- so by todays standards 1/2 the min wage of 2012 would be paying a sitter anywhere from about 4-5 an hour-which I think is perfectly reasonable since its off the books and CASH! I personally feel the reason sitters today can command (and YES Mamas we are at fault for paying- I am occasionally guilty too) these HIGH rates is the fact that these younger generations get it all from their parents too easy (reducing the need to work for reasonable wages or work at all). There is an entitlement to cars, iphones, coach purses (which as the full time working, tax paying adult who pays these sitters who come adorned in these luxuries I dont even have)- so the few who work request these wages and us desparate for a night out with no family around to help conceed and pay. I say as adults we stick up for our hard earned money and remind these teenagers who otherwise would never make 10 an hour cash, non taxable dollars that altough they are appreciated we pay age appropriate, reasonable wages for a lovely evening of pizza, tv and fun with some kids for a few hours. Rant Over -Haha
Almost 3 times minimum wage - this is insane. Take the kids with you - you can have date nights when they are older.
If you take the kids with you, go to some place like Chuck E. Cheese or McDonalds. Don't take them anywhere adults are trying to enjoy themselves.
We have literally never, not once, left the kids with a paid sitter. I didn't plan for it to end up that way, but sitters want more an hour than I make and I have yet to meet one that I'd feel good paying that much for. We have "date days" once or twice a year when we use vacation time while the kids are at school. Having lunch out is much cheaper than having dinner out anyway. The whole idea is to spend time together, not to spend lots of money we don't have.
The obvious solution to high babysitting costs is to not have babies. If you had kids voluntarily and want to go out, then quit whining about the costs.