Ask a fellow babysitter, “I’m a new babysitter and am trying to figure out what to charge. I was wondering how much you charge per hour?” Major cities and their suburbs generally pay higher rates than small towns. In New York City and L. A. , sitters charge about $20 an hour, while in Houston and Chicago they charge $15. Once you understand the range of rates, consider how your skill compares. If you are as experienced and skilled as similar professionals in your area, you can charge at the median rate. If you’re more skilled or have more training, consider a rate at the higher end.
Keep in mind that parents will pay more per hour for a qualified nanny than for a teenage babysitter. [4] X Research source Parents will also pay differently for full-time babysitting than for occasional nights or weekends.
If you’re underage to work at a regular job or are undocumented, you should still ask for the minimum wage. You deserve to be paid fairly.
Charge more if you have extra skills, like CPR certification or camp counselor experience.
Also, consider asking your client if you can bring a co-babysitter along with you for large groups of children. The client should pay both babysitters a reasonable rate for this to be a fair deal.
Offer the price you think is fair considering the amount of physical and emotional energy that goes into caring for that child.
The more tasks they ask you to do outside of just watching their child, the more you can charge for your hourly rate.
If you have to bike or walk to your babysitting job in the dark, make sure you feel safe. Otherwise, you should refuse the job, or ask for different hours. Don’t accept a ride from an unfamiliar babysitting client. It may not be safe.
On the other hand, if you’re babysitting in the middle of a Sunday afternoon, you’ll probably get less money than babysitting on a Saturday night, when your clients want to go on a date night.
