Babysitting is a lot more lucrative than it used to be.
A new national survey from UrbanSitter finds that the average hourly rate parents are paying sitters to watch a single child is now $16.43. Parents of two kids pay $18.86 per hour, while those with three kids are paying $20.56 per hour.
Rates fluctuate throughout the country, of course. San Francisco, not surprisingly, is the most expensive place to find a sitter, with single child rates averaging $17.89 and $20.39 for two. (The minimum wage in California, for reference, is $11 per hour.) Phoenix is the cheapest spot in the country, averaging $11.83 for one child and $14.14 for two.
Rates in other cities run a wide gamut:
Los Angeles – $15.87 (1 child); $17.38 (2 children)
New York – $16.84 (1 child); $19.31 (2 children)
Boston – $17.63 (1 child); $18.46 (2 children)
Atlanta – $12.36 (1 child); $14.43 (2 children)
Miami – $12.33 (1 child); $16.92 (2 children)
Minneapolis – $14.66 (1 child); $15.27 (2 children)
The prices listed do not include tips (which 45% of parents say they don’t give.)
The site found that more than 60% of parents spend over $1,000 per year on babysitting—with 21% spending over $5,000 per year.
Add in the increased costs of cocktails and dinners—Parents Night Out is getting a lot more expensive. No wonder Americans are eating out less these days.