Babysitter Pay? Oakland
We are moving to the area and trying to get an idea of how much babysitters charge hourly? We are looking for just occasional nights, weekends or weeknights. We have 1 child (she's 4). We paid our babysitter in San Diego $15 hourly. Is that approximately the going rate or is it more?
thanks for any advice or input!
Moderator Note: see BPN's Nanny pay survey from last year: https://www.berkeleyparentsnetwork.org/advice/2018
Jul 19, 2019
Parent Replies
$20-25 seems to be the norm for experienced sitters and many older student sitters also charge that range. High school and college kids often charge $15-18. $10- $12 for younger high school kids.
I have a 4 year old, and I've paid our last two regular sitters $20 per hour. In my experience, $15 an hour buys you a younger, less experienced sitter (who may also be flakier as far as responding, etc.)
I'd say around $15-20 although recently my daughter (age 12) was paid $25/hour by our neighbor.
got it! thanks for the input. very helpful
In my experience, HS and college students charge $15 (which happens to be the minimum wage in Berkeley). Particularly skilled babysitters -- eg ones who have professional ECE/nanny/daycare experience -- charge $20 to $25, sometimes higher.
You pay for the service you expect to get. If you want someone who can actually get your kids to sleep, including a bath & bed routine, and perhaps dinner before, you're looking at the full one-child rate of $20-25/hour, and since bedtime is challenging for most kids with a sitter, it's probably close to $25/hour. I also consider the equipping of the person I need - if my child were to wake ill or have another issue, is the person capable of doing the right things to care for him? The informs the type of sitter I get. I've erred on the side of paying more and having a super-capable sitter that gives me peace of mind. I stick to the $15/hour folks for watching kids while I'm at home doing other things (ex: take kiddo to the park for 2 hours so I can get grad school work done). Welcome to the Bay - you'll find everything is more expensive here - including sitters - who also have the much more expensive living costs you just transitioned to!
My daughter, a college student, charges $15/hr for 1-2 kids, + expenses such as mileage for school pick ups or other errands.
Hi, I would say at least $20/hour and quite possibly up to $25 depending on experience. Best of luck with your move!
I wanted to add to my prior response, though $20-$25/hr seems to be going rate, I have had good luck using services like Urban Sitter and Swiss Cheese where you can post a job and providers respond. I have found some high quality folks willing to take a lower rate ($18-$20) as my home was very close to them and made for easy commute by walking or short drive which was better than traveling for them.
Best of luck with your move!