Whether you’re new to babysitting or just re-evaluating the hourly rate that you’ve been charging, it’s important to get familiar with the average babysitter rates and the variety of factors that sitters and families factor in when settling on a rate. Here’s what you need to know to determine a reasonable babysitting rate per hour that works for everyone.<\/p>
Before you nail down your own babysitter rate, you’ll first need to figure out what other babysitters typically charge families to watch their kids. According to Care.com’s 2025 Cost of Care Survey<\/a>, parents posted rates for after-school sitters that average $316 per week for one child. That is based on an average of $21.07 per hour, working about three hours a day, or a total of 15 hours per week. <\/p> While knowing this national average is a good starting point, it doesn’t tell you what you exactly what you can expect to earn in your city or based on your experience and the job duties at hand. There are several other key factors you want to take into consideration.<\/p> In general, a babysitter’s hourly wage depends largely on three things:<\/p> The more babysitting jobs or hours you’ve worked means the more pay you can earn. But be reasonable about what you count as true experience. Caring for your little brother or sister doesn’t necessarily count as “years of experience.” If you have had actual babysitting jobs for non-family members, you can add that to the yearly total.<\/p> If you are watching more than one child, you can expect to be paid more. A good rule of thumb: Add an extra dollar per hour for each additional child. So if you are usually paid $17 per hour for one child and a family has three kids, you could request to make $19 per hour for that job.<\/p> Example, based on a proposed rate of $17 per hour:<\/p>What factors will influence my rate?<\/h2>
1. Experience<\/strong><\/h3>
2. Number of children<\/strong><\/h3>
How much to charge for babysitting 1, 2, 3 or 4 kids <\/h4>