You had a successful interview for a new nanny position. You love family, and family loves you. Now is the time to answer their next question: “What rate do you charge for your nanny services?”
According to the Care.com 2024 Cost of Care survey, the average nanny earns about $766 per week in the US, or about $19.15 per hour. But how much you charge for your nanny services depends a lot on where you live, what you bring to the table and — perhaps most importantly — what you’re being asked to do. Tasks like preparing meals or doing laundry will require extra effort on top of taking care of the kids, and you want to make sure you’re paid what you’re worth. Here’s how to find out.
How much do nannies earn? Determining your hourly rate of pays
In addition to your and the family’s budget, deciding on a nanny’s salary rate includes considering your location, your background and how much work is involved.
1. Average nanny rates for your area
Base pay rates often depend on how expensive it is to live in a particular area, such as the average rent or the price of groceries. If a particular city has a shortage of qualified nannies, that can also mean higher rates overall, as families compete for the few available.
Here are some examples of hourly nanny rates based on location, according to recent Care.com data.
Current nanny salary rates for top cities*
| City State | Hourly nanny rate |
|---|---|
| San Francisco, California | $26.11/hour |
| Seattle, Washington | $24.65/hour |
| Los Angeles, California | $24.19/hour |
| Brooklyn, New York | $22.28/hour |
| Denver, Colorado | $21.46/hour |
| San Diego, California | $21.15/hour |
| Austin, Texas | $20.38/hour |
| Portland, Oregon | $20.35/hour |
| Atlanta, Georgia | $20.20/hour |
| Chicago, Illinois | $20.08/hour |
| Phoenix, Arizona | $19.18/hour |
| Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | $18.68/hour |
| Charlotte, North Carolina | $18.42/hour |
| Orlando, Florida | $17.07/hour |
| San Antonio, Texas | $16.56/hour |
Finding average nanny rates for your area is a good starting place — you can always go up or down based on your experience or anticipated duties.
2. Your experience
How many years have you worked as a child care provider (including babysitting and in places like a child care center)? How many years have you been working as a nanny, specifically? The more experience you have, the more you can charge.
It is important to note that this usually refers to paid work experience only. Experience raising your own children can help your resume and tip the scales in your favor during the hiring process, but it shouldn’t be a factor in how much you charge for your nanny services, says Gabriela Gerhart, founder and president of the Motherhood Center, an organization that trains and places nannies throughout the Houston area.
3. Your level of education
Do you have a college degree? How about a master’s? Nannies with more education can usually charge more, especially if the degree is related to child care, such as a bachelor’s degree in early childhood education or a master’s in child psychology. Someone with a graduate degree can charge, on average, about $2 an hour more than someone with a high school diploma.
Other licenses or certifications can also give you leverage to charge more. Families often pay extra for nannies who are licensed nurses or certified teachers, for example, because of the expertise they can provide.
4. The number of children and their ages
The rate you set should depend on the number of children in your care, as well as their ages and individual needs. For example, taking care of four children is more difficult than taking care of one, and an infant is likely to require more hands-on care than a school-age child. Children with medical or behavioral issues may need more attention than other children. That extra workload should be taken into account when you determine your nanny’s rate of pay.
One thing that many babysitters of younger children don’t consider is after school or summer care for school age siblings. That’s a mistake Kattia Morales says she made as a nanny in Virginia. She’s hired to babysit a baby, but when school gets out, the kid’s siblings are suddenly watching her too — making her work even more difficult.
“When summer came, it was like ‘Oh boy, this is huge,'” Morales said.
She recommends nannies whose families have school-aged children discuss those issues face-to-face and find out what kind of compensation will be provided for school breaks or during the summer months. day, in particular.
5. Other benefits
Consider charging less if it means getting some other perk or benefit, such as:
Morales said she accepted lower rates of pay for her nanny services in the past because families allowed her to bring her daughter to work with her. “Bringing him in is a big deal for me,” Morales said.
This has helped her save on childcare costs — something that is becoming increasingly expensive for many families. So, while Morales wants a higher rate, he said he knows the family is making a special accommodation to allow his daughter to be there.
What will be charged for additional services
It’s common for nannies to pitch in here and there with chores around the house at bedtime, but if you’re regularly asked to do things unrelated to childcare, you should include that in your hourly rate of pay.
“Any cooking or light housekeeping that pertains to children should be standard for any nanny, as well as driving to and from activities,” says Gerhart.
Gerhart says if you regularly cook for the whole family or do laundry around the house, it’s common to add $1-$2 to your hourly rate. Also, if you use your own vehicle to transport children, it’s appropriate to ask the family to give you a predetermined mileage rate to cover the cost of gas and any normal wear and tear on your vehicle.
In addition to cooking, cleaning and laundry, other services you should consider charging extra for may include:
- Transportation to and from school or activities.
- Dog walking or other pet care.
- Administration of drugs.
- Doctor visits.
- Grocery shopping.
- teaching
- Managing contractors, such as landscapers or pool cleaners.
- Buying gifts.
- Party planning.
When to ask for a raise as a nanny
Even when working with a family, nannies can still negotiate for additional pay, often as part of regular performance reviews.
“As the children they care for grow (especially infants), job duties will evolve and possibly become more demanding,” says nanny Melodie Peachey.
He recommends asking for a job review every six to nine months to discuss your performance and changing responsibilities, as well as fair rate increases.
Gerhart agrees, though he recommends annual performance reviews. She suggests nannies ask for at least a $1/hour raise each year, unless a change in job duties necessitates a larger raise. Alternatively, the family may provide an annual performance bonus in lieu of an hourly rate increase. Regardless, Gerhart says, nannies should include routine appraisals and either a rate increase or an annual bonus in their nanny contract, so everyone is on the same page about what to expect.
Setting a pay rate for your nanny services is not a perfect science. You may suggest a starting rate that you think is appropriate, only to find out later that the compensation doesn’t quite match the workload. One way to avoid that is to include a three- or six-month trial period in the nanny contract, which gives you a built-in timeline to revisit payment in advance. And if you find yourself in a situation where you think you’ve made a mistake with your rate, don’t hesitate to speak up. Many families want to pay their nannies a fair wage — but it’s up to you to communicate what that is and why.
