Ask Gen

Dear Gen,

What is the best rate to pay a babysitter? I have twins and live in central Boston.

-Bewildered in Boston

This is a great question. The answer to the babysitter rate question has been shrouded in mystery for a long time, simply because inflation throws a wringer into rates every year and babysitter ages, times of jobs and locations vary dramatically. Babysitter rates can be determined based on five differing criteria:

• The age of your babysitter
• The distance of your babysitter to a metro area
• The number of kids you have (and the closeness of their age)
• The time period and type of baby sitting job
• Child care experience

To start with, an average rate that a college babysitter receives in a major metro area in the United States is $10 an hour. So that is the fee that most parents on this site will be seeing from their babysitters. And the number of kids that a parent has is also a factor. If you have over two kids, consider raising your rate to $11-$12 an hour. Consider doing this as well if you have twins, since they are a handful. (I should know, I am one!) However, if the job is a night job, and you know that the sitter is probably going to spend most of it on the couch watching TV and eating your Terra Chips, lower your rates back to $10 an hour, and explain this to the sitter.

If your babysitter is younger than college-age, expect their rates to be about $2 lower. This is because they have less experience, may not be able to drive, etc. This is a general rule, and applies to both sitters and mother’s helpers. In some cases, you may see a college baby sitter/nanny that is asking for $15 an hour, or even $20. The sitter may bill herself or himself at this rate because they have lots of experience. (”Lots of experience” generally means that they have been a full-time nanny and are qualified with disability, CPR, first aid, and lots more.) Some parents react badly to these higher rates, but some parents like them because they view them as a guarantee of quality. The interview should be the judge. (See our Interview Tips for more information).

The farther away that you move from a metro area, the more rates change. Inside a city (and by this I mean the city and ten miles outside of it in every direction,) college babysitters should stick with that $10 an hour rate, younger sitters about $8 for normal jobs of two kids or less. But once you move out of this range, into the range between ten miles out and forty miles out, rates can drop by $1-$2 for both kinds of sitter. And over fifty miles from a city, expect to see everything from $3 an hour to $10, depending on age.

Lest this topic seem shrouded in mystery all over again, there are several easy ways to learn about your local babysitter rates. You can contact a local college or high school’s career services office, and they should have a good handle on the rates in your area. Or just talk to the babysitter that you are considering. Give them the rate that you feel comfortable paying, and listen to their reply.

If you want an even better short cut, visit Sittercity.com’s Rate Calculator. Just answer four questions, and our rate calculator will auto-generate the right rate to pay your babysitter.

Good luck!