Babysitting the kid down the street pays a lot better than working at Walmart or McDonald’s.
A new study from UrbanSitter finds the national average for an hour of babysitting now stands at $16.75 per hour for one child and $19.26 per hour for two children. To put that in perspective, that’s more than twice the Federal minimum wage of $7.25 per hour.
It’s also above the $9 per hour average at the retail giant and $8 per hour average for crew members at the fast food leader. (Of course, you’ll get more hours at either of those jobs.)
The study, which gathered data from 28,000 families around the country, found that in San Francisco, with its high cost of living, sitters made the most, averaging $18.75 per hour for one child and $21.30 per hour for two kids. Las Vegas had the least expensive average, $11.63 per hour for one child and $14.71 per hour for two kids.
Rates in other cities run a wide gamut:
Los Angeles – $16.06 (1 child); $18.01 (2 children)
New York – $17.30 (1 child); $20.85 (2 children)
Boston – $16.90 (1 child); $18.84 (2 children)
Atlanta – $13.17 (1 child); $15.75 (2 children)
Miami – $12.67 (1 child); $16.38 (2 children)
Minneapolis – $13.94 (1 child); $14.68 (2 children)
Babysitting is a growth field, it would seem. While some cities have seen price reductions in the past year, Urbansitter notes that average rates have increased 2% in the past year (last year’s average was $16.43) and 18% in the last five years. And 18% of parents hire a sitter at least once a month.
